Ethiopia remains defiant, won’t accept ruling in its entirety

Ethiopia remains defiant, won’t accept ruling in its entirety

ADDIS ABABA, 03 Dec, 2004 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Friday demarcation of most of the country's 600 mile border with Eritrea could begin immediately, raising hopes a long-simmering border dispute could be resolved.

"On the so-called 85 percent of the boundary (with Eritrea), we have said all along that we don't have any objection and it can be demarcated straight away," Meles told resident diplomats in Addis Ababa in a briefing session attended by reporters.

Addis Ababa - Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Friday demarcation of most of the country's 1 000km border with Eritrea could begin immediately, raising hopes a long-simmering border dispute could be resolved.

"On the so-called 85 percent of the boundary (with Eritrea), we have said all along that we don't have any objection and it can be demarcated straight away," Meles told resident diplomats in Addis Ababa in a briefing session attended by reporters.

Meles said disagreement over the remaining 15 percent of the border could be solved through dialogue with Eritrea, which went to war with Ethiopia between 1998-2000.

"Resolving the issues of a few meters here and a few hundred metres there - at most one or two kilometres - is not going to be an insurmountable task," Meles said.

Ethiopia had previously refused to accept an independent commission's ruling on where the border should lie, while Eritrea has long accepted the verdict in its entirety.

One of the key sticking points has been the commission's decision to award Badme - flashpoint of the war which killed 70 000 people - to Eritrea.

"Even in the case of Badme we are talking about 800 meters, nothing more," Meles said. "Negotiation means give and take. It also means that whoever is coming to the table for negotiations is prepared to give some things, but not others."