Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the implementation of the peace deal to end the bloody conflict in northern Ethiopia, according to the state department.
The talks come two weeks after the federal government and TPLF signed the cessation hostilities agreement brokered by the African Union.
In a readout, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the discussion “about efforts to bring lasting peace” to the north was held over the phone on Tuesday.
Blinken recognized ongoing efforts by the government to work towards unhindered humanitarian assistance and restoration of basic services in the Tigray, Afar, and Amhara Regions.
In a tweet, Belinken also mentioned that he and Abiy “discussed the urgent need to implement” the peace deal, “and to secure lasting peace in northern Ethiopia.”
“The United States remains committed to supporting the African Union-led process,” the secretary of state added.
Meanwhile, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has set the withdrawal of the Amhara and Eritrean forces from Tigray region as a precondition to lay down their arms.
In a latest briefing, TPLF’s military commander Tadesse Werede said the implementation of the ceasefire has taken ground since the agreement in Pretoria, South Africa to end the bloody conflict in northern Ethiopia.
Nearly one million people are estimated to have died from both sides since hostilities erupted in November 2020.
Tadesse said the TPLF would begin the disengagement of its forces whenever the Amhara and Eritrean forces start withdrawing from Tigray.
MG/as/APA