by Adulis Faris
When Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed claims that Ethiopia possesses no legal document acknowledging Eritrea’s restoration of independence, he is not merely insulting the intelligence of his own citizens — he is denying the very international agreements he personally signed before the eyes of the world’s leaders.
On September 16, 2018, the “Agreement of Peace, Friendship and Comprehensive Cooperation between the Democratic Federal Republic of Ethiopia and the State of Eritrea” was signed in Jeddah city, which was signed by Abi Ahmed himself and Eritrean President Isias Afriqi, and in the presence of Saudi family King Salman Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Amin United Nations General Antonio Guterres
The agreement clearly states in its first article that:
“The state of war between the two countries is over, and a new era of peace, friendship and comprehensive cooperation has begun. ”
In its fourth article, the parties confirm their commitment to:
“Implementation of the decision of the Eritrean-Borders Committee of Ethiopia. ”
And here is the house of poems:
The decision of the Border Commission (EEBC) is a ruling issued by the International Court of Arbitration on the drawing of borders between the two countries in 2002, based on the Border Agreements of 1900, 1902 and 1908 between Menelik II and King of Italy Emberto I.
Ethiopia has officially recognized this verdict and signed its commitment to implement it in the Algeria agreement 2000, then Abiy Ahmed reaffirmed himself with the signing of the Jeddah agreement in 2018.
What logic then today allows him to say that “Ethiopia has no legal document proving” of Eritrea’s independence? Can a government predict a peace deal with a country that is alleged that “not-lawfully existing”? The Jeddah Agreement alone stands as an official Ethiopian document that explicitly recognizes Eritrea’s sovereignty, independence, and internationally defined borders, affirming its full rights as a state in global affairs.
Abiy Ahmed’s recent statement, therefore, is nothing more than a cynical political stunt—a desperate attempt to stir hollow nationalism and distract the Ethiopian public from the country’s deepening crises in Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray.
Bottom line:
Whoever renounces agreements signed before the eyes of the world does not appear as a statesman, but as a leader divorced from reality—a man whose detachment from truth is far more perilous than any geographic separation.
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