File photo shows South Sudanese President Salva Kiir (R) and South Sudanese former First Vice-President Riek Machar (L) in Juba, capital of South Sudan, April 26, 2016. (Xinhua/Denis Elamu)

ADDIS ABABA, June 2 (Xinhua) -- The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has decided to bring leaders of the two major warring factions in South Sudan to the table, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed on Friday.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed on Friday that IGAD's Council of Ministers, during its Thursday's 62nd Extra-Ordinary Session in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, has decided to arrange a meeting between South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, and his former deputy Riek Machar, who is head of Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO).

According to the ministry, the East African bloc in its Thursday's "successful deliberation" stressed that all South Sudan's political forces "are responsible for the elimination of the violence and brutality in the country towards peace."

The ministry, however, did not disclose specific details of the meeting among Salva Kiir and Riek Machar. Machar is presently in exile in South Africa.

The IGAD Council of Ministers stressed in its final communiqué that "despite all efforts made so far, South Sudanese parties have not made sufficient compromises to overcome the outstanding issues on governance and security matters."

IGAD Council of Ministers has decided to submit punitive measures against violators of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) for approval by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the communiqué read.

It has also decided to submit its request to the IGAD Assembly to delegate the Council to decide on actions to be taken against violators of the CoHA on the Assembly's behalf. The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement was signed in December 2017 among South Sudanese warring parties in Addis Ababa.

The Chairperson of the IGAD Council of Ministers, Workneh Gebeyehu, said Thursday during the opening session of the bloc's council of ministers meeting in Addis Ababa that "we have now reached at a decisive moment."

Gebeyehu, also Ethiopia's foreign minister, further stressed that parties involved in South Sudan violence should spare no time to recommit to silencing the guns and sticking to the document they signed in December 2017.