One of the points of tension is the call from landlocked Ethiopia for access to the sea, which Abiy has described as an existential matter. He said that losing a port as a result of Eritrean independence was a “mistake”.
In his letter, the foreign minister said that if Eritrea’s soldiers withdraw then the two countries could start talks including over “the issue of access to the sea through the port of Assab”.
In its response, Eritrea’s information ministry said the “patently false and fabricated accusations… [were] astounding in its tone and substance, underlying motivation, and overarching objective.
“As underlined before, the Government of Eritrea has no appetite for, or desire to, engage in meaningless acrimony to add fuel and exacerbate the situation.”
Last week, in a further sign of deteriorating relations, Abiy said for the first time that during to the 2020-2022 civil war in Tigray Eritrean troops had massacred people in the Ethiopian city Aksum. These were allegations Eritrea had previously denied following reports of mass killings that took place in the historic city in November 2020.
In shifting alliances, Ethiopia now says that Eritrea is supporting rebels in Tigray who oppose the peace deal that ended the civil war.
Last month, Ethiopian police said they seized thousands of rounds of ammunition sent by Eritrea to rebels.
Eritrea denied the allegation and accused Ethiopia of “floating false flags to justify the war that it has been itching to unleash for two long years”.