Ethiopia does not harbour any desire to invade Eritrea in its quest for access to a seaport in the Horn of Africa, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told lawmakers.
It comes as Eritrea 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.
Eritrean foreign minister Osman Saleh said his country has no intention of going to war with Ethiopia but warned that Addis Ababa’s designs in the region is a recipe for regional conflict.
Responding to questions from members of parliament (MPs) on Thursday, PM Ahmed said Ethiopia will not resort to war with Eritrea under any circumstances.
Ethiopia became landlocked after Eritrea seceded from the federation in the early 1990s and retained its maritime boundaries.
PM Ahmed said his working hard to resolve this ”geographical anomaly’ but issued assurances to MPs that this ambition would be realised through dialogue with its neighbours and not through military expansionism.
Ethiopia’s desire for access to the Red Sea will not drag the country in confrontation with Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Kenya.
Instead, there is significant potential for collaboration and mutual benefit if countries in the region aspire for mutual benefits and progress, he added.
He said military conflict with Eritrea was not an option for Ethiopia which would use the language of diplomacy to resolve any differences with its neighbours.
“Access to the Red Sea is nevertheless an existential matter for Ethiopia and it won’t be too far-fetched in a time when people are traveling to space” he said.
Ethiopia’s pursuit of peaceful access to the sea is gaining significant international traction, the premier stressed before pointing out that its maritime quest is justified given that no other landlocked nation surpasses his country in size.
MG/as/APA