Both sides willing to pursue military option

As diplomatic efforts to bring a halt to the fighting continued, both sides appeared determined to achieve a solution through military means. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told Organisation of African Unity (OAU) diplomats on Monday: “We shall negotiate while fighting; we shall fight while negotiating. Both roads lead to peace.” The ‘Ethiopian Herald’ on Tuesday quoted Meles as saying that Eritrea had only itself to blame for the continuing Ethiopian invasion. “Instead of withdrawing from Barentu [in western Eritrea], which is incontestably Eritrean territory, the Eritrean army could and should have withdrawn from Zala Anbesa, which is incontestably Ethiopian territory,” the paper quoted him as saying.

The ‘New York Times’ on Tuesday quoted Eritrean presidential spokesman Yemane Gebremeskel as saying that while Asmara was willing to resume talks, it was also prepared to settle the dispute militarily. “We don’t have any problem with diplomacy. [But] the war will continue and we will see who will prevail at the end of the day,” he said.