The Ethiopian government has agreed to honour an invitation from the African Union (AU) to hold peace talks with rebels in the northern region of Tigray.
The Redwan Hussein, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s National Security Advisor confirmed this in a tweet.
It reads, “The African Union has sent an invitation for peace talks. The government of Ethiopia has accepted this invitation, in line with our principled position regarding the peaceful resolution of the conflict and the need for talks without preconditions”.
Also, in a statement, the Ethiopian Government Communication Service (GCS) said the AU had communicated in its invitation the date and venue of the talks but gave no details.
But at the time of filing this report, the Tigray forces are yet to announce if they would honour the invitation. However, last month the Tigray forces expressed willingness to go into negotiation with the Ethiopian government.
“We will communicate the details at the appropriate time, in consultation with the parties,” said Ebba Kalondo, spokesman for AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki.