After the rift... Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of an "expansionist policy" and threatening the Horn of Africa

In the wake of Asmara's decision to sever ties with Addis Ababa, Eritrea considered what it described as Ethiopia's "hostile attitude" towards it to be "an integral part of an expansionist foreign policy that has destabilized the Horn of Africa," as well as an attempt to obtain a "sea outlet."

The Eritrean Foreign Ministry indicated, in a statement on Sunday, that in the face of the current crisis in the Tigray region, “the (Ethiopian) Prosperity Party regime has escalated its external hostility towards Eritrea, combining renewed threats of invasion under the false pretext of ‘self-defense’ and an unjustified diplomatic attack.”

It also explained that “during the past month, the Ethiopian regime significantly changed its rhetoric in international forums, as previous demands of a hostile and pressing nature regarding “maritime necessity” and “obtaining sovereign access to the sea” were replaced by equitable access to the sea through reliable and reliable arrangements,” according to what the statement stated.

While Eritrea's Foreign Ministry described this position as "revealing a calculated diplomatic deception aimed at misleading the international community and covering up an ongoing campaign to destabilize regional stability and regional expansion that is now unfolding on the ground."

In addition, the Eritrean Foreign Ministry accused the Ethiopian government of “exploiting the presence of the African Union headquarters in the Ethiopian capital for the purposes of continental diplomacy, and bypassing international protocols by signing a unilateral and illegal memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, thus directly violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia,” noting that “the Ethiopian government has exacerbated the disastrous civil war in Sudan.”

These statements came after Eritrea announced in early October the severing of all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, in response to Addis Ababa's decision to close its embassy in Asmara and expel 10 Eritrean diplomats, including the Chargé d'Affaires and diplomats accredited to the African Union.

Asmara said that it "had no choice but to reciprocate" and announced the complete severing of diplomatic relations with Addis Ababa, in a move that came in the wake of the escalation of fighting in northern Ethiopia, especially in the Tigray region.

Note that the roots of the current tension go back to the deterioration of relations between the two countries after years of rapprochement that followed the peace agreement in 2018, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki announced an end to the state of war, the resumption of diplomatic relations, and the opening of the borders between the two countries. However, relations later witnessed a setback, especially after the war in Tigray between 2020 and 2022.

The recent diplomatic escalation also coincided with renewed fighting in Tigray, as Addis Ababa accused Eritrea of ​​supporting an armed coalition led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front, while Asmara denied these accusations.

The issue of Ethiopian access to the Red Sea is one of the most prominent sources of tension between the two countries. Ethiopia, a landlocked country, has in recent years intensified its efforts to obtain a sea port, while Asmara views some Ethiopian proposals as a threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.