Ethiopia’s president calls for negotiations to end civil war in Tigray region

Ethiopia’s president Sahle-Work Zewde has reiterated calls for negotiations and other peaceful resolution means to end the country’s nearly two-year civil war.

“The government has stated clearly that it will always keep the door open for peace,” Zewde said that while addressing the Ethiopian parliament on October 10. “We continue to urge for negotiations without any conditions, believing that any form of differences may be resolved through discussions.” She, however, also stated that at the same time the Government of Ethiopia will not tolerate any provocation by the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). “This year, we must put all of our efforts to bring the war that has tested our nation to end in peace,” the Ethiopian leader added.

President Zewde’s remarks come at a time the long-awaited African Union-brokered peace talks in South Africa were postponed without any new date set. The meeting between the warring sides in the two-year-old conflict in Tigray would have been the first since a ceasefire broke down in late August.

Ethiopia’s federal government announced on October 5 it had accepted an invitation from the chair of the AU Commission to attend the peace talks while also the Tigray authorities said they were ready to send negotiators but sought clarity on the structure of the talks, having previously insisted on the participation of international officials as observers.