ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia’s leader called Tuesday for international “mediation” with Eritrea over access to the sea, insisting on an “irreversible” claim to the coastline as tensions rise between the Horn of Africa neighbors.
Relations are once again strained more than 30 years after Eritrea gained independence and left Ethiopia landlocked.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won a Nobel Peace Prize for forging a peace deal with Eritrea in 2018.
But his insistent demands on sea access have provoked anger in Eritrea, which says Ethiopia covets its southeastern port city of Assab on the Red Sea.
“Ethiopia’s request for access to the sea is irreversible. We have no intention of going to war with Eritrea. On the contrary, we are convinced that this issue can be resolved peacefully,” Abiy told parliament on Tuesday.
