You're reading: Russia to open embassy in South Sudan

Moscow, July 11 (Interfax) - Russia will open its embassy in South Sudan, the world's youngest state.

"Russia is planning to open its embassy here," the Russian President’s Special Representative for Cooperation with Africa Mikhail Margelov said on Russia Today television on Monday.

"But first, it is necessary to complete the entire bureaucratic procedure, which is up to the Russian Foreign Ministry to do under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," he said.

Moscow is concerned about developing relations with South Sudan, Margelov said.

"I handed President of South Sudan Salva Kiir a letter from the Russian president, and I also had a meeting with Foreign Minister Deng Alor, during which I introduced the Russian ambassador to Uganda who will also be our ambassador to Juba," he said.

Speaking about South Sudan’s future relationship with the North, Margelov said that he hoped they would manage to bridge their differences.

"No one wants war. Everyone wants problems to be solved through peaceful and political means, especially where oil is involved. I think that the political elites of the North and South can find a common language," the diplomat said.