Ethiopia To 'Fully Accept' Peace Deal Ending Border War With Eritrea
Ethiopia has vowed to end a long-standing border dispute with neighboring Eritrea.
Ethiopian officials have agreed to fully implement a peace deal with neighboring Eritrea, which granted disputed territories such as the town of Badme to Eritrea.
Though the ruling took place in 2000, following the 1998 border war which last two years and left tens of thousands dead, the Ethiopian government had yet to adhere to the conditions of the deal, and refused to remove troops near Badme.
Eritrea in return, refused to hold negotiations with Ethiopia until it fully acknowledged the terms of the agreement, ending in a long-standing diplomatic stalemate, reports The New York Times.
On Tuesday, Ethiopia's ruling government, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, agreed to fully implement the treaty. Ahmed promised to make peace with the neighboring country when he took office earlier this year.
"The Eritrean government should take the same stand without any prerequisite and accept our call to bring back the long-lost peace of the two brother nations as it was before," the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) wrote on Facebook.
The news is being seen as a major step forward in ending one of the continent's most drawn-out disputes.