Ethiopia asks OAU to modify peace plan

Ethiopia said on Wednesday it had asked the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to modify its plan to end the war with Eritrea, to take into account Ethiopia’s sweeping gains on the battlefield, Reuters reported. Speaking to journalists after the first day of the resumed proximity talks in Algiers, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said certain provisions of the OAU plan were now redundant. “We will see how the OAU peace plan can be adapted to the reality on the ground,” he said. In Asmara, presidential spokesman Yemane Gebremeskel described the Ethiopian call as outrageous and warned that it would lead to further conflict and deaths. Yemane told Reuters: “If they think their invasion should be rewarded it is outrageous. If they are throwing away the peace plan endorsed by the international community then that means more war.” The UN Security Council on Tuesday welcomed the resumption of the proximity talks and urged the two countries to cease hostilities and concentrate on diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. The current Security Council President, Ambassador Wang Yingfan of China, said in a statement that the Council expressed strong support for the efforts of the OAU to find a peaceful solution.