PRESS STATEMENT ON ERITREA AND ETHIOPIA BY PRESIDENT OF SECURITY COUNCIL

PRESS STATEMENT ON ERITREA AND ETHIOPIA BY PRESIDENT OF SECURITY COUNCIL

Following is the text of today’s press statement on Eritrea and Ethiopia by Mignonette Patricia Durrant (Jamaica), President of the Security Council:

Members of the Council held private meetings with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Eritrea and Ethiopia respectively regarding the peace process.

Members of the Council called on the parties to exercise a greater degree of flexibility in their approach to the peace process, with the view to consolidating the significant progress made to date and to improving relations between the two neighbouring countries.

Members of the Council called on the parties to resolve all outstanding issues.

Members of the Council reiterated their full support and confidence in the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

Members of the Council noted UNMEE’s intention to continue monitoring the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas to ensure the parties’ compliance with the Algiers Agreements.  In this regard, members of the Council noted with particular concern that the monitoring of the 15 km adjacent area north of the Temporary Security Zone continues to be restricted.

Members of the Council urged the parties to contribute to the further implementation of the Algiers Agreements in a practical and constructive manner and to exercise restraint in their public statements.

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