UK official says Ethiopia-Eritrea border ruling "final" and "binding"
Source: BBC Monitoring Newsfile
Publication date: 2003-11-07


Text of report in English by Ethiopian newspaper Addis Tribune on 7 November

Mr James Bevan, Director for Africa, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said Wednesday [6 November] that the ruling on the Ethiopia-Eritrea border issue could only be reversed through mutual agreement of the two countries. He told a press conference at the British embassy that as far as the international community is concerned, the debate on the border issue was over.

The decision, as agreed upon by the two parties, was "final" and "binding," he said. "Ethiopia and Eritrea should fight poverty and hunger rather than fighting each other. The war between the two countries had not only negatively affected the lives and property of both countries but had also affected the sub-region and Africa as a whole," he said.

"We are not planning to put pressure on Ethiopia to accept the ruling of the border commission's decision: instead, we are encouraging both countries to solve the problem peacefully and through dialogue," Mr James Bevan concluded.

Publication date: 2003-11-07