Liyat Fekade
Addis Abeba, May 16/2018 – Ethiopia’s ministry of foreign Affairs said despite media reports, its delegates did not participate in the opening celebrations of the US embassy in Jerusalem.
In a statement given to state media this morning, Meles Alem, MoFA spokesperson, clarified that media reports indicating Ethiopia as one of the African countries which were planning to participate in the event were not true. The news was first reported by Haaretz, a leading Israeli daily newspaper. Nigeria and Thailand, which were included in the report by Haaretz, have also issued statements saying their delegates were not a part of the opening ceremony.
According to Meles Alem, however, Ethiopia’s position remains similar to that adopted by the African Union Commission (AUC). “We, as part of the African Union, endorse the two-state solution,” state affiliated FanaBC quoted Meles as saying.
https://twitter.com/dgerima/status/996424664649031685
The same statement was made yesterday by Ethiopia’s ambassador to the UN, veteran Ambassador Tekeda Alemu. The status of Jerusalem “must be resolved through negotiation based on two state solution between the two parties based on the relevant UN security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions,” Ambassador Tekeda Alemu was quoted as saying by Nebiyu Tedla, a staff of Ethiopia’s diplomatic mission to the UN.
More than 60 Palestinians were shot and killed by members of the Israeli Defense Force on Monday May 14 at the same time when the US was celebrating the opening of its controversial embassy premise in Jerusalem.
In December 2017, Ethiopia has already made it clear that it has no intentions to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. AS
