The United States, the United Kingdom and Norway urged political parties in South Sudan to meet the newly agreed timeline on security arrangements.

 The parties to the 2018 peace agreement signed an agreement Sunday to unify the command of the security forces, a deal that eases political tensions in the country.

Sunday’s deal calls for a unified structure in the security services, including the army and the police, with 60-40 distribution in favour of President Salva Kiir’s side.

Both President Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar witnessed the signing ceremony in Juba.

 “The graduation of Necessary Unified Forces will be a significant step forward for the implementation of R-ARCSS [Revitalized Peace Agreement]. With less than a year of the transitional period, wholehearted commitment is critical to ensure the newly agreed timeline on security arrangements is met,” the countries said in a joint statement.

The three countries — known as the Troika — commended the spirit of compromise shown by the parties to the South Sudan peace agreement to reach a deal on security arrangements.

The Troika welcomed the decision taken by Machar’s SPLM/A-IO to re-engage with the monitoring and verification mechanisms set out in the peace agreement.

The three countries promised to continue supporting the parties in their efforts to achieve peace in South Sudan.