Erdogan backs peaceful resolution to Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict
Turkish leader also tells Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that Ankara is willing to mediate in Sudan border dispute.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backs a peaceful resolution to Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict, which has displaced tens of thousands and left millions hungry. He also says Turkey is willing to mediate between Ethiopia and Sudan to resolve a separate border dispute.
Erdogan told visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday that the war-hit country’s “peace and integrity is important to us”.
“If the situation deteriorates, all countries in the region will be affected,” Erdogan told a joint media appearance with Abiy.
Northern Ethiopia has been racked by fighting since last November when Abiy sent troops to topple the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region’s governing party at the time.
Tens of thousands of Ethiopians fled to refugee camps in Sudan to escape a conflict the UN says has pushed 400,000 people into famine-like conditions.
In July, the UN warned that more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months.
Ankara and Addis Ababa have friendly relations and the two leaders pledged to boost economic cooperation and trade.
Abiy said the two countries’ relationship was built on “mutual respect and trust”.
Erdogan and Abiy oversaw the signing of military agreements, including a military financial cooperation deal. Details of the deals were not immediately available.
Erdogan, who hosted General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, in Ankara last week, also said Turkey was prepared to contribute toward a peaceful resolution of a dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan over the al-Fashaga region.
“We are ready to make any contribution to an amicable resolution of the problem, including mediation,” he said.