ADDIS ABABA: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived late Tuesday (Mar 14) in Ethiopia on a bid to support the peace process after a brutal two-year civil war, and renew ties with a longtime ally. Molly Phee, the top US diplomat for Africa, said that Blinken's visit would aim to "help consolidate that peace" but cautioned that the US-Ethiopian relationship was not ready to go "back to normal". She said that Ethiopia needed to take steps "to help break the cycle of ethnic political violence" if it wants to put the US relationship back on a "forward trajectory". "The conflict that Ethiopia just endured was earth-shattering," she told reporters before departure. Russia has gone on a diplomatic offensive in Africa, including in Ethiopia, since the war, hopeful that the continent will stay neutral rather than join Western sanctions.

Source: Ethiopian News March 14, 2023 23:44 UTC