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AFP
Sudan and South Sudan still remain far apart in negotiations to resolve a furious oil dispute threatening to reignite fighting between the former civil war foes, a minister said Tuesday.

"The gulf is still huge, I don't know if it can be bridged," Nhial Deng Nhial, the South's foreign minister, told AFP in the Ethiopian capital where the two sides are holding talks.

South Sudan took three quarters of Sudan's oil when it gained independence, but all pipeline and export facilities are controlled by the north.

Last month, the South halted oil production -- accounting for 98 percent of government revenue -- after Juba accused Khartoum of stealing $815 million worth of crude oil.

Nhial said Khartoum is demanding transit and other fees many times higher than the international standards Juba believes are fair.

"We would want to discuss transit fees in line with international standards," Nhial said. "The only thing we are obliged to pay is the transit fee and we are ready to discuss that."

The delegation failed to reach an agreement on a transit fee Tuesday night after talks broke up in the Ethiopian capital.

"These negotiations won't reach a final agreement right now, they will have to keep going," US special envoy to Sudan Princeton Lyman told AFP.

He said negotiations have reached "critical point," urging the international community to pay greater attention to the issue, warning of an emerging humanitarian threat in the region.

"At some point... you're going to need the whole international community to step in... we have the threat of an immediate human crisis, the world cannot just stand by and watch that happen," he said.

Tensions are high, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned that a failure to resolve the bitter dispute could threaten regional security.

Both sides signed a non-aggression pact on Friday, but Juba's military said the agreement was broken two days later, when Sudanese warplanes bombed a disputed border area, wounding four Southern soldiers.

"I feel Khartoum has just signed it for public relations, I don't think they intend to abide by it," said Nhial of the pact. "You cannot rule out the possibility of war being triggered by Khartoum."

Pagan Amum, the South's chief negotiator, said Khartoum had seized a further 2.4 million barrels of oil. He said a deal could only be reached if Sudan had a "change of heart."

Despite a failure to agree, north Sudanese negotiators say the mood in the negotiations has improved.

"Both sides are feeling the heat... there is a need to sit down and talk and agree, we learned the hard way, but I hope it will continue," said Sabir Mohamed Hassan, a member of Sudan's negotiating team.

"We also agreed that there is no resumption of export unless we reach an agreement, so we have to sign a treaty."

Talks are expected to resume in Addis Ababa, though no date has been set. jv/hv/fc