Deeply concerned by reports of fighting on June 12 and 13 on the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged the two countries to show “maximum restraint’ and follow the path of dialogue to resolve their differences.
The UN chief, who is on an official visit to Belgium, met on Wednesday in Brussels with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea to discuss the development.
Ban urged both governments to exercise maximum restraint and refrain from any act or statement that could exacerbate the situation, and stressed the need for both governments to resolve their differences through peaceful means, including by ensuring the full implementation of the peace agreement they signed in 2000.
He added that, the UN remains available to assist the two countries in this matter.
Ethiopia and Eritrea have been blaming each other over who started Sunday’s fighting at their disputed border.
A peace deal signed in 2000 ended the two-year border war between the two countries but it has not been fully implemented.
