Kofi Annan urges resolution of border dispute

The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has urged Eritrea and Ethiopia to resolve their border dispute, saying international peacekeepers could not remain in the region indefinitely. Speaking on Saturday in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, Annan said he was "optimistic" despite the deadlock over the dispute, but added that many crises around the world were stretching the UN's limited resources. "Let me, in all seriousness, say that our presence here has made a difference. We have stabilised the situation, but it is not our intention to stay here indefinitely," he said. "We came here to do a job. We intend for it to be limited. [...] So we’re going to do whatever we can to encourage the parties to cooperate, move on with it, and allow us to get our job done so that we can move on to other challenges," he added. Some 4,200 UN peacekeepers patrol a 25-km wide security buffer zone along the 1,000-km frontier that separates the two countries. The mandate of the mission, which costs more than US $200 million a year, is due for renewal in September when, observers say, the UN Security Council will look to "streamline" costs. Annan met Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki on Saturday before flying to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, where he was due to hold talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. He was met on arrival by foreign minister, Seyoum Mesfin, and African Union chairman, Alpha Oumar Konare. On Tuesday, Annan is due to address the African Union heads of state summit on Tuesday, where the stalled peace deal between the two neighbours is to be discussed. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a two-and-a-half-year war that erupted in 1998 and claimed tens of thousands of lives. Under a peace agreement signed in Algiers in December 2000, their leaders pledged to resolve tensions through an independent boundary commission. When the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) issued its ruling in April 2002, however, Ethiopia rejected it as "illegal" and called for talks with Eritrea. Eritrea said the border must be demarcated first, before any such talks can be held. Since the end of the war, negotiations have been limited to military officials in talks held under UN auspices, mainly to ensure no clashes erupt. "We have many challenges in the world, and we have limited resources," Annan added. "And therefore, it is essential that everyone cooperate with us to do what we are here to do, so that we can move on to assist others." "I don’t think the Council [Security Council] and the world will allow us to remain indefinitely without progress," he added. "So I am hopeful that the parties will see it that way and we can settle the situation here and move on." Earlier this year Annan appointed a Special Envoy, Lloyd Axworthy, to try and help resolve the stalemate. After meeting with Meles Zenawi, Axworthy had been expected to fly to Eritrea to meet Afewerki but the trip never materialised. Eritrea has since appointed its own envoy to meet with Axworthy.