Reuters
02-AUG-98
OUAGADOUGOU, Aug 2 (Reuters)- Talks aimed at resolving a border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea went into their second and final day on Sunday with the two sides still refusing to meet face to face and neither seeming ready to compromise.
The talks are being held in Burkina Faso under the auspices of the Organisation of African Unity, and a team led by OAU Secretary General Salim Ahmed Salim met the foreign ministers of both countries on Saturday.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin told reporters late on Saturday that he would not meet his Eritrean counterpart until Eritrean troops had left the contested zone of Badme.
``Ethiopia has said clearly from day one that until the Eritrean forces of aggression have left Ethiopia, we will not hold direct discussions with Eritrea,'' Seyoum said.
Eritrean Foreign Minister Haile Weldensae said it was Ethiopia that was not respecting colonial-era borders.
``We have not occupied any part of Ethiopian territory and we are not prepared to withdraw from our own territory,'' he said after leaving three hours of talks with OAU representatives.
OAU leader Salim said the Ouagadougou talks would not bring the peace process to a conclusion but were a stage in that process.
Eritrea took independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after its fighters formed the backbone of a resistance army that fought a lengthy war against former Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.
The two sides quibbled peacefully for years over their border, using colonial maps and more recent surveys to argue their case, but the dispute turned violent on May 6 with each accusing the other of invading.
There have been no reports of border fighting for several weeks and the air raids that characterised the early days of the dispute have also stopped.
Reuters
02-AUG-98
OUAGADOUGOU, Aug 2 (Reuters)- The Secretary General of the Organisation of African Unity said on Sunday that talks to end a border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea had been constructive, and he urged them to maintain their ceasefire.
Salim Ahmed Salim was speaking in Ouagadougou after talks with the OAU chairman, President Blaise Campaore of Burkina Faso. Earlier, his team had separately met with the foreign ministers of Ethiopia and Eritrea.
``These discussions have been constructive and frank and, within the overall peace process, we feel we are in a better position today to make clear recommendations to (African) heads of state on the question,'' Salim Ahmed Salim said.
The dispute has been running since May, although there have been no reports of border fighting for several weeks and the air raids that characterised the conflicts early days have also stopped.
Salim said the OAU was working flat out to avert a full-scale war.
``We have been able to make the two parties understand that they must continue to maintain the ceasefire while African leaders pursue their efforts,'' he added.
However, talks with the foreign ministers of the two states -- who are refusing to meet face to face-- appeared to have made little headway.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin told reporters late on Saturday that he would not meet his Eritrean counterpart until Eritrean troops had left the contested zone of Badme.
``Ethiopia has said clearly from day one that until the Eritrean forces of aggression have left Ethiopia, we will not hold direct discussions with Eritrea,'' Seyoum said.
Eritrean Foreign Minister Haile Weldensae said it was Ethiopia that was not respecting colonial-era borders.
``We have not occupied any part of Ethiopian territory and we are not prepared to withdraw from our own territory,'' he said after three hours of talks with OAU representatives on Saturday.
A report into the conflict drawn up by the OAU at the start of July states that Badme was under Ethiopian administration before its occupation by Eritrean troops on May 12, according to a diplomat familiar with its contents.
Eritrea took independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after its fighters formed the backbone of a resistance army that fought a lengthy war against former Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam.
The two sides quibbled peacefully for years over their border, using colonial maps and more recent surveys to argue their case, but the dispute turned violent on May 6 with each accusing the other of invading.