Ateny Wek Ateny-Presidential Press Secretary.

The Office of the president says it is yet to decide on the proposed Kiir-Riek face-to-face meeting which IGAD has scheduled to take place on June 20 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The president’s press secretary confirmed receipt of the invitation letter written by the Prime Minister of Ethiopia – Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

In the letter, Dr Ahmed requested presence of President Salva Kiir for the talks with Opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar.

But recently, a high-level delegation from Sudan government proposed a similar initiative to be held in Khartoum as one of their agendas.

Speaking to Eye Radio on Thursday, Ateny Wek Ateny said a decision has not yet been made on whether the president will attend the meeting in either proposed countries.

“The Office of the president has received the invitation…the decision has not yet been made by the government of the republic of South Sudan as to whether the president will be attending or not on that date,” he said.

“This is not an individual decision but it will be collectively made as government is collectively responsible and therefore it will be a collective decision.”

However, in a statement issued on Wednesay, the leadership of the SPLM-IO acknowledged receiving a similar invitation.

The statement states that the Opposition leadership has welcomed the IGAD proposal.