The government has proposed change of the venue for the next round of the Revitalization Forum because of the political situation in Ethiopia, the Minister of Information, Michael Makuei has said.

Ethiopia has been facing unrest and political crisis which led to the loss of lives and displacement of civilians.

Last month, Hailemariam Desalegn, who is the chairperson of IGAD, resigned as the Prime Minister and the chairman of the ruling coalition following a period of mass unrest in the Amhara and Oromia regions.

The next round of the High-Level Revitalization Forum was supposed take place this month in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

However, IGAD has not yet announced the date for the resumption of the talks.

Information Minister Michael Makuei said the issues in Ethiopia should not be a reason for the delay of South Sudan peace process.

“So if our peace process is delaying because of the Ethiopian situation, then we said our peace cannot be held hostage pending on the resolution of the Ethiopian situation,” he told Eye Radio.

Mr Makuei said the government has suggested that the talks be conducted in another regional country with the exception of the Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia.

“We’ve proposed either Djibouti which is the headquarters of IGAD or Kenya or Uganda.”

Mr. Makuei did not mention why the government thinks Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia are not appropriate venues for the peace talks.

However, South Sudan and Sudan have been accusing each other of supporting armed opposition groups in both countries.

Some of opposition leaders have also in the past refused to come back to the country because they want an assurance of security.

Somalia on the other hand has been facing conflicts fueled by terror attacks.

The second phase of the revitalization forum was riddled with disagreements over a number of issues in chapter I and II of the 2015 peace agreement.