Asmara has warned that Ethiopia is posing a serious threat to Eritrean sovereignty and territorial integrity, accusing its southern neighbour of provoking war, according to a statement seen by APA over the weekend.
Briefing members of the diplomatic community residing in Asmara earlier this week, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh accused the Ethiopian government of deploying troops at the borders aiming at infringing Eritrea’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Ethiopia’s ruling had repeatedly declared its intention to pursue all possible options, including the use of force, to realise its ambition of securing what it calls “sovereign access to the Red Sea,” Saleh told the diplomatic community.
He said Ethiopia’s intention is to take control of the Red Sea and the port of Assab by force and explained that these ambitions pose a serious threat to Eritrea’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and constitute a grave danger to regional peace and stability.
Saleh stated that Ethiopia’s ruling party had now effectively declared open war against the peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia and emphasised that such unlawful actions contravene the principles of the United Nations Charter and violate the 2018 Agreement on Peace and Friendship signed between the two countries.
Minister Osman further recalled that the Charter of the United Nations, particularly Article 2(4), prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
He explained that the dangerous and expansionist policy being pursued by the Ethiopian government against Eritrea constitutes a flagrant violation of this fundamental principle and must be condemned.
He said Ethiopia has provided sanctuary, as well as military and logistical support, to armed groups operating in Ethiopia against Eritrea. He further noted that the party was engaged in military activities that fuel regional conflicts and exacerbate instability in the Horn of Africa.
The minister recalled that on 1st of October, Ethiopia expelled a total of ten Eritrean diplomats, including officials assigned to the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), violating agreements, governing diplomatic relations with the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
MG/as/APA