South Sudan's rebel chief Riek Machar has said he will attend direct talks with President Salva Kiir in a bid to end to a four-month long civil war, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says.
Ban, who is visiting war-torn South Sudan, told reporters on Tuesday that Machar promised he "will be present" at talks in the Ethiopian capital.
Ban's comments came moments after he spoke to the rebel chief via satellite telephone from his remote bush hideout.
Kiir has already promised to attend talks with his arch-rival, and Ban said the meeting had been tentatively scheduled for Friday, although the date may be pushed back as Machar has said it will take time for him to travel there.
Machar, who was forced to flee his rebel base into the remote bush near the border with Ethiopia after a major government assault captured his former headquarters at the weekend, pledged to do all he could to attend, Ban said.
The UN chief's one-day visit, coming as rebels and government forces battle for control of a key oil town, is the latest major push for a ceasefire to the conflict, which has seen the world's youngest nation collapse amid a brutal cycle of war crimes.
"I received the call from Dr Riek Machar... he said that he has been invited by the prime minister of Ethiopia (to attend the talks)," Ban said.
"He responded positively that he will be present in Addis Ababa," Ban said, adding Machar said he "will try his level best because he is in a very remote area".
The war has claimed thousands - and possibly tens of thousands - of lives, with more than 1.2 million people forced to flee their homes.
