Gedion said recent developments pointed to “further escalation,” citing joint military manoeuvres between Eritrean forces and Ethiopian armed groups near the northwestern border.
Eritrea has bristled at repeated public declarations by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that landlocked Ethiopia has a right to sea access – comments many in Eritrea, which lies on the Red Sea, view as an implicit threat of military action.
In his letter, Gedion said Ethiopia remained open to dialogue if Eritrea respected its territorial integrity. He said Addis Ababa was willing to engage in good-faith negotiations on all matters of mutual interest, including maritime affairs and access to the Red Sea through the Eritrean port of Assab.
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw in Addis Ababa and Giulia Paravicini in Nairobi; Editing by Ros Russell)
