Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir met Tuesday in an effort to resolve a variety of issues including the future of Abyei, a contested oil-rich area, al-Jazeera reported.
 

Bashir — indicted by the International Criminal over his alleged involvement in facilitating genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan — was welcomed by Kiir at the airport in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

The former enemies embraced and shook hands. Bashir later described the meeting as "fruitful," while Kiir vowed "to go the extra mile to make peace with Sudan," according to al-Jazeera.

South Sudan seceded from the north in 2011 after a decades-long civil war that claimed an estimated two million lives. Although the two sides are officially at peace, tensions remain — many of them surrounding Abyea.

South Sudanese Foreign Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said Khartoum has not moved quickly enough to permit an African Union-backed referendum on Abyei to go forward.

Benjamin told the Voice of America that Abyei residents are "restless" and considering voting on their own to decide whether to affiliate with Sudan or South Sudan.

Both Juba and Khartoum oppose such a unilateral action.

A member of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party said in an interview with the Voice of America the two countries have not agreed on creating the stable environment necessary for a vote.

The referendum, which had been originally scheduled to occur in 2011, has been stalled by Khartoum, which opposes the inclusion of nomadic tribesmen who travel through Abyei while searching for cattle grazing areas.

Relations between the two countries have been strained, and they nearly went to war last year over Abyei.

 

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