The peace talks have collapsed again as parties have maintained their prior positions at the High-Level Revitalization forum.

In its latest statement, the government reiterated that the incumbent first vice president maintains his position, a demand the IO continues to reject.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, the Information Minister, Michael Makuei, once again said of the three vacancies, one goes to IO, but without Dr. Riek Machar.

This, the opposition also rejects.

In other aspects of governance, the government wants the number of the seats at the TNLA be increased 450 to ensure inclusivity, contrary to the opposition call for a lean august house.

In terms of security arrangements, the government opposed the idea of two armies for fear of a repeat of July 2016 incident at the presidential palace in Juba.

The statement comes a day after the IGAD Council of Ministers presented a final bridging proposal draft to the heads of state and governments yesterday.

This followed a face-face meeting between President Kiir and his rival Dr Machar on Wednesday night.

Photographs taken of the two leaders show President Kiir and Dr Machar hugging each other in a cycle alongside the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, at his state house.

They were also later seen shaking hands at the venue of the talks.

Mr. Makuei stated that Kiir rejected any move to bring back Machar to his previous position, blaming the opposition leader for the reoccurrence of violence in the county.

“The office that we have created for vice president should go to the IO, but not Dr. Riek Machar,” Makuei told the media in Addis Ababa son Friday.

“The SPLM IO will nominate its candidate and will occupy that potion.”

On Monday, the principals will meet in Khartoum as part of the continuation of the face-to-face talks.

The next phase will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, after the African Union summit scheduled to take place in Mauritania next week.

According to the government spokesman, the last meeting of the two leaders will be conducted in Addis Ababa where the parties are expected to sign a peace accord.