Austria to recognize South Sudan as sovereign state

Austria will recognize South Sudan as a sovereign state on July 9, 2011, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.

At a press conference after the Ministerial Council, the cabinet meeting, Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said that Austria would deliver the document recognizing South Sudan's sovereignty to the government of South Sudan as soon as it declares independence.

Austria will also propose to establish diplomatic relations with South Sudan as soon as possible, he added.

"The bloody clash in Abyei and Southern Kordofan had made it clear that this step alone did gain nothing. The risk of a relapse into violence is not averted," he said, while calling for serious and constructive cooperation between North and South Sudan to create the basis for an orderly and peaceful coexistence.

In January this year, the South Sudanese people voted overwhelmingly to declare independence from the North in a referendum.

Source: Xinhua

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