Gov't welcomes US statement, but calls for positive action

The Eritrean government has welcomed a statement by the US State Department on the border situation with Ethiopia, but urges positive action.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the Eritrean foreign ministry said the US State Department had for almost two years "shied away from taking a legal and appropriate public stance" on the boundary issue.

It said that against this backdrop, "the statement issued by the State Department last Wednesday (21 January 2004) urging for the implementation of the EEBC [Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission] decision 'fully, peacefully, and without delay' is a new development that must be seen as a positive initiative".

It went on to recall that Eritrea had accepted the boundary commission's ruling in good faith and had respected the Algiers agreement.

In the Algiers peace accord of December 2000, which officially ended their two-year war, both countries agreed that an independent boundary commission would rule on a new border and that its decision would be final and binding. But Ethiopia has since rejected parts of the ruling which places portions of disputed territory in Eritrea, and has called for an "alternative mechanism" to resolve the dispute.

The foreign ministry's statement said Eritrea and its people welcomed the State Department's move "as a positive initiative and urge the US government to take, further, appropriate measures so that the declared position will bring tangible results on the ground".