Ethiopia denies Meles-Isayas meeting

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.