The Ethiopian Government has vehemently denied a BBC report that the Prime Minster Meles Zenawi met Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki and had a face-to-ace discussion during the IGAD summit in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. The BBC ‘Focus on Africa’ on Friday reported that the two leaders met along with the leaders of Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan in an effort to reconcile the Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders. Ethiopian radio reported a Foreign Ministry statement as saying that the ‘Focus on Africa’ report was a “blatant fabrication”. No such meeting took place between Meles and Isayas, and the Ethiopian government was not aware of such reconciliation efforts being made in Khartoum, it said. Ethiopia and Eritrea have not engaged in any face-to-face meetings since their border war broke out in 1998, according to diplomatic sources.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
Share this article
