October 23, 2000
Delegations from Ethiopia and Eritrea led by their respective foreign ministers were due to meet in Algiers on Monday. The two sides are holding indirect talks brokered by Algeria, the US and the European Union. According to the BBC, the aim of the talks is to turn the cessation of hostilities signed by both sides on 18 June into a "final peace accord". The main focus of the talks is the demarcation of the disputed border, and international arbitration. Eritrea wants the UN to demarcate the border first, while Ethiopia insists on arbitration first.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin told journalists in Addis Ababa before he left on Monday that he expected the talks to focus on "border demarcation, compensation of damages, determination of the party responsible for the start of the conflict, and other issues", state media said.
Eritrean state radio said Foreign Minister Ali Sayyid Abdullah had left with an Eritrean delegation of law experts, and that the Algerian government, US, OAU, UN and EU representatives would broker the talks. Demarcation of the border in line with the OAU framework agreement and the issue of compensation would be discussed, the radio said. It said the Eritrean and Ethiopian foreign ministers met US State Department officials in Washington last week to discuss "the development and continuance of the peace process".
