Eritrea wants border fixed; Ethiopia wants talks

Thursday, April 27, 2006 Posted: 1652 GMT (0052 HKT)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi pressed neighboring Eritrea on Thursday to accept that negotiations are "the only sane option" for resolving the simmering tensions over the border between the two nations.
Meles was speaking after international mediators postponed talks that were scheduled for Friday in London to discuss the stalled demarcation of the border over which they went to war in 1998, fighting for two-and-a-half years. It was not immediately clear why the talks were delayed and no new date has been set.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but their 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) border was never settled.
"I very much hope the other side recognizes that the only sane option is to sit together and discuss issues and try to resolve them through dialogue by peaceful means," Meles told reporters. "My hope is that some progress will be made. In the end, all conflicts have to be resolved through dialogue."
Eritrea, however, rejected calls for negotiations, saying implementation of their 2000 peace agreement will resolve their border dispute peacefully and legally.
Under the deal, both countries agreed to let an international boundary commission rule on the location of their frontier. They also agreed that the ruling would be final and binding.
The commission issued its ruling in 2002, but the decision has not been implemented because of Ethiopia's refusal to accept the awarding of the town of Badme and other territories to Eritrea.
A frustrated Eritrea has said there is no need for more talks and that the international community should simply ensure the border ruling is implemented.
"A peaceful resolution involves accepting the decision of the boundary commission," Yemani Ghebremeskel, Eritrea's presidential chief of staff, said by telephone from the country's capital, Asmara. "Progress has been hampered every time because of Ethiopia's intransigence."
On March 10, lawyers for the two countries met members of the boundary commission for the first time in three years in an effort to resolve the stalemate. Eritrea, however, said after the talks that it was concerned that Ethiopia was trying to reopen negotiations instead of simply accepting the ruling on the frontier.
Eritrea was referring to a proposal, first made by Meles in 2004, that called for changes to the 2002 ruling, including exchanging land where villages may be divided by the border.
"Our position is well-known," Meles said. "There will be no surprises."
Ethiopia's proposals were illegal and unacceptable because they are calculated to undermine their binding peace agreement, Yemani said.
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