South Sudan President, Salva Kiir

South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir has offered to mediate in the ongoing political transition in Sudan after last week’s fall of long-serving president, Omar al-Bashir.

A statement released by Kiir’s office on Wednesday said he was ready to support the democratic aspiration of his former adversary in Khartoum and help bring about a peaceful transition.

“The president has offered to mediate the ongoing negotiations among various groups in Sudan with the hope that the new transition will usher in a new day in Sudan,” the statement said.

South Sudan’s Petroleum Minister, Ezekiel Lul Gatkuoth told reporters that he had travelled to Khartoum to meet the new leadership, alongside a high-level delegation that included Juba’s security service chief and a presidential adviser on security.

Kiir’s offer comes seven months after Bashir helped mediate a shaky peace deal between Kiir and the main opposition rebel group in South Sudan which won independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of conflict.