Mediators say President Salva Kiir of South Sudan and his political rival are expected to sign a peace agreement in Ethiopia on Monday.
Representatives of Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar have been negotiating in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa since August 6. The U.S. had urged the warring factions to reach a peace agreement by August 17 or face sanctions.
Haile Michael, a spokesman for a regional bloc mediating the talks, said Kiir and Machar will sign what he called a “compromise document” on Monday.
Previous attempts at a negotiated settlement have failed. At stake were issues such as how to share power and the composition of a transitional government of national unity.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta had earlier posted on Twitter images of the two men taking part in IGAD-led talks late Sunday ahead of the Monday deadline.
Kenyatta took part in the talks along with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Ugandan President Yoweri Musevenei and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.
Kiir's presence in Addis Ababa came less than two days after he canceled the planned trip over concerns that rebel factions slated to participate in Monday's talks had split apart and would not present a united front. He later reversed himself, voicing fear that his absence from the talks would be seen as opposition to the peace process.
The makeup of the rebel delegation was not clear late Sunday, less than a week after two rebel generals said they were no longer allied with Kiir's chief rival, rebel leader Machar.
Machar said both sides were under intense international pressure to sign an accord.
South Sudan's civil war erupted in December 2013, just months after President Kiir fired Machar as vice president. The fighting has killed thousands and displaced an estimated 1.6 million South Sudanese.
Some material for this report came from the Associated Press.