Eritrea has acknowledged difficult relations with Ethiopia but denied it was on a warpath with its Horn neighbour despite amassing troops along the border with Tigray.
Since Eritrea became independent in the early 1990s, the two countries had fought a bitter border conflict which ended in 2000.
Foreign minister Osman Saleh said his country has no intention of warring with Ethiopia but unequivocally rejects Ethiopia’s maritime ambitions which include access to the Red Sea for a naval base.
Osman’s comments come amid growing tensions between the two countries with former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome accusing Asmara of attempting to “exploit divisions within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front to render the Pretoria accord which ended the conflict.
Teshome had warned that Eritrea’s alleged designs in the region could reignite war in northern Ethiopia and tear up the whole peace deal.
”Eritrea’s alleged preparation for war against Ethiopia is baseless,” Eritrea’s Minister of Information Yemane Gebremeskel on X quoted Saleh as saying on Wednesday.
Ethiopia bidding to realise its ambition whether through diplomacy or military force is misguided Saleh said while briefing resident ambassadors, members of the diplomatic corps, and heads of UN agencies in the Eritrean capital Asmara earlier this week.
Saleh urged the international community to bring pressure to bear on Ethiopia to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours, a lack of which is contributing to heightening tension in the Horn of Africa.
The foreign minister said the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) had “redeployed to Eritrea’s internationally recognised borders” following the end of the two-year war in Tigray in November 2022.
“Anyone that claims or suggests otherwise is doing so to scapegoat Eritrea over Ethiopia’s internal problems” he added.
On the Pretoria Agreement, Osman said Eritrea regards the conflict that led to it as Ethiopia’s internal affair and has no desire to intervene in a foreign country.
”Any suggestion that Eritrea is involved in the conflict between the Tigray Interim Administration and the TPLF is being categorically rejected” he said.
MG/as/APA