ASMARA – Eritrea information minister on Tuesday sharply criticised what he called Ethiopia’s “incessant saber-rattling and war agenda” regarding its ambitions for Red Sea access, warning that such rhetoric risked “fomenting dangerous conflicts” in the region.
The comments from Yemane G. Meskel came in response to recent remarks by high-level Ethiopian officials, including the army’s chief of staff, who questioned the fairness of Ethiopia’s landlocked status.
Speaking at an event for the Ethiopian Defense Force, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula stressed his country’s need for sea access. “Our population is now 130 million. In the next 25 years, it will reach 200 million,” he said. “How can the interests of 200 million people be blocked for the benefit of a community of two million? It is not fair. It is not in line with international law, and it is not logical.”
In a statement on X, formerly Twitter, Meskel accused officials from Ethiopia’s ruling Prosperity Party (PP) of “political doublespeak and duplicity” that “knows no bounds.”
He pointed to the apparent contradiction of Ethiopia hosting the Tana Forum, a summit ostensibly focused on “regional peace and stability,” while at the same time, its “Army Chief of Staff and other senior military brass continued to ratchet up their incessant saber-rattling.”
Meskel also dismissed a reported announcement of a “$1.58 billion Standard Gauge Railway Project intended to connect the country with the Red Sea Ports of Massawa, Assab and Tadjourah.”
He argued that the “befuddled mindset and duplicitous machinations” from Ethiopia’s ruling party had “nothing to do with good-faith intentions and policies of regional peace and cooperation.”
Regional stability, Meskel asserted, must be “squarely anchored on established international laws and norms; on full respect of each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“Duplicitous verbal gymnastics is not only antithetical to the healthy agenda of regional peace, stability and cooperation, but it is also fraught with fomenting dangerous conflicts that the Horn of Africa region does not need or deserve,” he warned.
Ethiopia’s PM Abiy calls for mediation, insists sea claim ‘irreversible’
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told parliament on Tuesday that his country’s demand for sea access was “irreversible” but insisted the issue could be resolved peacefully through international “mediation.”
Relations between the Horn of Africa neighbours have become increasingly strained over Abiy’s insistent demands, which have provoked anger in Eritrea. Asmara 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, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for a peace deal with Eritrea, told lawmakers.
He said he had held discussions on the issue with the United States, Russia, China, the African Union, and the European Union. “We… have requested their mediation to find a lasting solution,” he said.
Eritrea’s information minister, however, dismissed such rhetoric as dangerous. “Duplicitous verbal gymnastics is not only antithetical to the healthy agenda of regional peace, stability and cooperation, but it is also fraught with fomenting dangerous conflicts that the Horn of Africa region does not need or deserve,” he warned.
