Panafrican News Agency

Ethiopian crisis: US President Biden, Ethiopian PM Abiy hold telephone conversation

Washington, DC, US (PANA) - US President Joe Biden and Ethiopian Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy on Monday had a telephone conversation that could be seen as indicating an improvement in relations between them.

The focus of the telephone conversation, initiated by President Biden, was humanitarian access to all areas in Ethiopia.

The war in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia has seen the US coming hard on Ethiopia, especially because of the humanitarian crisis and human rights abuses blamed on all sides, especially the government, the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and Eritrea, which has been on the side of the Addis Ababa government. 

The US has also cut off Ethiopia from the duty-free trading scheme provided under African Growth and Oppoutunity Act (AGOA) due to human rights violations in the war, whixh broke out in November 2020.

A senior US official, who described the tone of the telephone call as businesslike, serious and focused on issues, told a briefing that the purpose of the call was really to reinforce some of the "more constructive steps and inclinations" Prime Minister Abiy may be demonstrating, to put the U.S.-Ethiopia relationship onto a constructive footing.

It was also to "reiterate where we need to continue to see progress — specifically, the Ethiopian army not going into Tigray; stopping airstrikes, which has taken place in recent days and about which we’ve been quite concerned", and expanding humanitarian access to all regions of the country and engaging in ceasefire talks. 

"President Biden was very clear ... that full humanitarian access should be restored, unfettered to all regions of the country. The Prime Minister seemed to understand that that was the request."

The US official said Prime Minister Abiy has made a series of commitments, including publicly, to expand humanitarian access and it will now be up to his government to deliver on what they have been pledging to do. 

On Eritrea, the US official said their role in the crisis has been a negative from the start, saying the US does not believe that they have a constructive role to be played. 

In terms of next steps, the US official said President Biden made clear that he would like to see the Ethiopian army not going in to Tigray. Ethiopia should also halt airstrikes, expand humanitarian access and engage in direct ceasefire talks.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister on his official Facebook page said he had “a candid conversation with President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. on current issues in Ethiopia, bilateral relations as well as regional matters”.

Abiy added: “We both agreed there is great value in strengthening our cooperation through constructive engagement founded on mutual respect.”

-0- PANA MA 11Jan2022