11:34 a.m. Jul 01, 1998 Eastern
By Tsegaye Tadesse
ADDIS ABABA, July 1 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi urged Eritrea on Wednesday to accept in full a United Nations resolution calling on both sides to halt their border conflict immediately.
``Eritrean authorities have never said they have accepted every element of the U.N. Security Council resolution,'' Meles told Reuters in an interview.
``What the Eritrean authorities decided is to go along with the resolution of the Security Council on the basis of a selective reading of the decision, by picking bits and pieces from the resolution in an attempt to ignore its key elements,'' Meles said.
Hundreds have died in a war fought on three fronts since May 6, though there have been no reports of significant fighting since June 11. Both sides agreed last month to a moratorium on air strikes.
Last week's U.N. resolution also called on both sides to accept the recommendations of the facilitators, namely the United States and Rwanda.
Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki last month rejected an Organisation of African Unity (OAU) mission to both capitals because its facilitation was based on the U.S.-Rwanda plan.
The plan called on Eritrea to withdraw to territory it held before May 6 when the conflict began, but makes no similar demand of Ethiopia.
``We are not closer to peace. As to whether we are getting closer to war depends on how Eritrea would respond to the resolution of the U.N. Security Council and withdraw from the territory they occupy,'' Meles said.
Ethiopia would send ministerial missions to Europe from Thursday to explain its position and encourage them to urge Eritrea to accept the resolution in full, Meles said.
Both states have already sent missions to Gulf states and north Africa.
``But if all peace options fail, we have the will and means to reverse the invasion. We will regain our territory one way or the other. But we prefer the peaceful option,'' he added.
The conflict has seen a barrage of charge and counter charge between the two Horn of Africa states about citizens residing in each other's country.
The U.N. human rights commissioner Mary Robinson urged Ethiopia on Wednesday to stop expelling Eritrean nationals.
Eritrea also accused Ethiopia last week of harassing the businesses of Eritreans who had been deported by Ethiopia for security reasons.
Ethiopia would encourage Eritrean families still in Ethiopia to join deported family members back home, Meles said.
Only 1,000 Eritrean military conscripts were restricted for security reasons from a total of some 130,000 Eritreans in Ethiopia. A total of 664 Eritreans were last week being detained at a former military training camp at Fiche, central Ethiopia.
He invited the international community to visit military conscripts at their detention centre and accused Eritrea of refusing to grant access to the Red Cross and other bodies.
Meles repeated the accusation that Eritrean authorities had raped, tortured and detained Ethiopians on its territory.
Meles said Ethiopia had never invaded Eritrean soil, rather the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) and Meles' Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) government had been criticised for giving away Eritrea.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla struggle. The TPLF, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and other groups joined forces to oust dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam in May 1991.
``We were the one who accepted the Eritrean independence when we know we will be land-locked. The reason that they are now peddling this absurd fiction is that they cannot explain to their people why they stabbed their best friend Ethiopia in the back,'' Meles said.