The African Union responds after Egyptian criticism of its statement on the crisis with Ethiopia

The African Union Commission issued a new statement, on Sunday, after Egyptian criticism of a statement issued by the bloc regarding the diplomatic crisis between Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea. The Commission said that it "took note of the observations expressed by the Arab Republic of Egypt regarding the statement issued by the Commission on October 1, 2026 related to regional tensions."

The official Middle East News Agency reported on Saturday that an informed Egyptian source said that the Commission’s statement represented “an incomprehensible attempt to involve Egypt in an internal Ethiopian issue,” stressing that one should not be led by the attempt of some to divert attention from the real internal motives behind what is happening there. In a statement on Sunday, the Commission confirmed, “The aforementioned statement was not intended, in any way, to assign responsibility for what is happening to any of the neighboring countries, but rather it was merely a call to reduce tension following the expulsion of two diplomats from the three capitals.”

The Commission's statement indicated that its call for restraint between the three countries came "in line with the institutional responsibility assigned to the Commission," while affirming that it "attaches... special importance to its close relationship with the Arab Republic of Egypt and appreciates its positions, as a founding member state of the African Union and an essential partner in promoting peace, security, integration and development on the continent."

The statement coincided with Egypt hosting, on Sunday, a four-party consultative summit in the city of El Alamein, including the presidents of Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan, and Somalia, regarding developments in the situation in the Horn of Africa, the waters of the Nile, and security tensions in the Red Sea. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also received, in El Alamein, the President of Burundi and the current President of the African Union, Evariste Ndayishimiye.

Ethiopian officials recently accused Egypt, Eritrea, and Sudan of supporting opposition armed factions seeking to overthrow the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, which the three countries denied. Last Thursday, Addis Ababa declared an Egyptian diplomat “persona non grata” and gave him 48 hours to leave the country, to which Cairo responded with a similar move.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also announced its intention to close its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, in response to what it described as “direct and indirect acts of hostility and escalation carried out by Eritrea against Ethiopia,” according to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA). The Egyptian statements came after a statement issued by the African Union Commission regarding what it described as escalating tension between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Egypt.

In its statement, the African Union Commission called on the three countries to exercise the utmost restraint, and to refrain from any actions or statements that would escalate tensions and threaten regional peace and stability, while keeping channels of communication open and settling differences through diplomatic channels and peaceful dialogue.