US Ambassador says hopes of peace are high

US Ambassador to Ethiopia David Shinn has said he believes the chances of a solution to the Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict are high. "My view is the probability is quite high, certainly better than 50 percent, but how much better than 50 percent I don't know", Shinn - who is soon to finish his posting and return to the US - stated in an interview with the 'Addis Tribune'. He added that "once that happens, assuming it happens, you will then see an uptake in US-Ethiopian relationship programs that have been on sort of a plateau over the last year, plus."

Shinn also called on the Ethiopian government "to make every effort to ensure equitable treatment for the opposition parties" in elections scheduled for next year, saying those parties who take the initiative to register for the elections "must have access, for example, to those kinds of media outlets that the government party has ... There must be a system in place so that they feel that they have an honest chance of achieving some electoral victories."