The United States government through its ambassador to Kenya, Meg Witman, welcomed President William Ruto’s agreement to meet with opposition leader Raila Odinga on Monday.

Odinga called off the bi-weekly anti-government protests he had been staging for the past two weeks on Sunday evening, saying the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition is ready for dialogue to address key issues with the Kenya Kwanza government.

It followed President Ruto’s earlier appeal to Odinga to halt the protests and instead consider talks towards a bipartisan parliamentary process for the appointment of commissioners to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

One of the issues raised by the opposition with President Ruto’s administration is the formation of a new electoral body.

“We welcome the agreement by President Ruto and former PM Raila Odinga to establish a bipartisan process to find solutions that benefit all Kenyans,” Witman tweeted.

While the opposition leader has threatened to resume protests if “no meaningful outcome” is reached within a week, the United States has urged all parties involved to support the planned talks.

We commend both leaders for their commitment to peaceful dialogue and call on all parties to support this process,” Ambassador Whitman added.