US diplomat to discuss Ethiopian peace proposal with Eritrea

ASMARA, Eritrea, Dec 06, 2004 (AFP) - US diplomat for African affairs Donald Yamamoto was Monday in Eritrea to discuss with authorities a new Ethiopian proposal aimed at breathing life into a stalled peace process, the US embassy said.

"The talks will concern bilateral questions but also the recent Ethiopian declaration," an embassy official told by phone in Asmara.

Yamamoto, the deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, arrived in Asmara on Friday night.

Last month, lawmakers in Addis Ababa overwhelmingly adopted a five-point plan to kickstart the peace process between the two countries, which fought a bitter border war between 1998-2000.

The highlight of the plan was the acceptance in principle of the 2002 ruling by a special commission on the exact path of the border, a decision Addis Ababa had adamantly rejected since September 2003.

But Asmara insists that until Ethiopia actually "withdraws from sovereign Eritrean territories" the plan is one of the "futile attempts... solely aimed at promoting public relations exercises and buying more time."

Again Monday, Eritrea poured cold water on the plan.

"There is nothing new in the Ethiopian proposition and we cannot negotiate what is 'final and binding'," said Foreign Minister Ali Said's chief of staff Ahferom Berhane on the phone in Asmara.

The decision of the the commission was supposed to be "final and binding", according to an Algiers peace deal that ended the two year war.

But the US official said: "We don't immediately intend to react to the Ethiopian declaration... If you're not careful, you end up with a battle of competing statements, and that would not be helpful right now."

But diplomats expect Yamamoto to change the hearts of Eritrean officials.

"Mr Yamamoto must obtain quite quickly a more positive response from Asmara to the Ethiopian proposal. If nothing comes out of this meeting, that will be a bad sign," said one diplomat, who did not want to be named.