Eritrea is severing diplomatic ties with Ethiopia in response to actions by Addis Ababa, which closed its embassy in Asmara and declared ten Eritrean diplomats persona non grata, according to a statement by Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs published on 1 October.
“Throughout these trying times, Eritrea has displayed patience and restraint in the hope of averting a dangerous escalation. In the current circumstances, however, Eritrea has no option but to reciprocate in kind and sever all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia with all the negative corollaries that this entails,” the ministry said.
The ministry also claimed that Ethiopia was hosting, training and providing arms to “Eritrean armed opposition groups” in order to stoke internal conflict and bring about “regime change” in Eritrea.
“In reality, it is Ethiopia which has been pursuing an agenda of incessant hostility – in effect, a publicly pronounced declaration of war – against Eritrea for three years in pursuit of ‘the imperative of acquiring sovereign access to the sea’ through the invasion of sovereign Eritrean ports and coastal areas,” the statement said.
Also on 1 October, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the closure of its embassy in Asmara in response to Eritrea’s “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence against Ethiopia”. According to the ministry, the diplomats declared persona non grata had been involved in activities “that pose a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security in breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”.
“These diplomats are required to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours. Ethiopia urges the Eritrean Government to cease all acts that are contrary to the principles governing relations between sovereign states,” the ministry said.
The ministry also stressed that Ethiopia had consistently prioritised “peaceful coexistence, regional stability and integration”.
After Eritrea declared independence in 1993, Ethiopia lost access to ports, including the strategic port of Assab, and has since been almost entirely dependent on Djibouti for its foreign trade.
In October last year, Ethiopia requested mediation from Russia, China, the United States, the European Union and the African Union in resolving its dispute with Eritrea over access to the sea. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel criticised Addis Ababa’s statements about its right to access the sea.
In February this year, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused Eritrea of involvement in the mass killing of civilians during hostilities in the Tigray region. (Afr Initiative/GSF)
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