• “Ethiopia is a sovereign country, but without access to the sea, it cannot truly exist as a country,” Abiy Ahmed

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on religious leaders, wealthy individuals, scholars, and embassies to act swiftly to help prevent war in Tigray.

His remarks in parliament on Thursday came amid growing tensions between the federal government and the new Tigray administration. “If war breaks out in Tigray, it will be different from the previous one,” he said.

“The people of Tigray absolutely do not want war. But despite their wishes—and given the current global political climate—if war resumes, the world is unlikely to care. With many conflicts happening around the world, international attention is stretched thin, he said. “If the world truly cared, it would have paid attention to Sudan,” Abiy added.

Abiy said the Pretoria peace accord has brought positive changes for the people of Tigray. The restoration of telecommunications, banking, airlines, and other essential services in the region, along with the return of displaced Tigrayans to Raya and Tselem, represents success in implementing the accord, he said.

However, he stated that displaced people from Wolkayet have yet to return, and the government will prioritize their return.

Even amid talk of imminent war with neighboring Eritrea, Prime Minister Abiy has said that his administration doesn’t intend to fire a single shot in Eritrea. He said Ethiopia’s pursuit of access to the sea would be guided by peaceful dialogue, respecting international laws and neighboring countries. “Eritrea is a sovereign country; we don’t want it to become part of Ethiopia by force. We have no such intention. Likewise, Djibouti and Somalia are also sovereign countries. Their sovereignty over all their territory needs to be recognized,” he said. “But Ethiopia is also a sovereign country, and if it does not have access to the sea, it can’t exist,” he added.

“The thing about living together is giving and receiving,” he said. On the question of sea access, he added: “Should we be paying for it? A land swap? What should it be? We need to talk about it — we need to have that conversation.”