Erdo?an backs peaceful resolution to Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has backed a peaceful resolution to Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict that has displaced tens of thousands and left millions hungry.

He also said Turkey was willing to mediate between Ethiopia and Sudan to resolve a separate border dispute.

Erdoğan told visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday that the war-hit country’s “peace and integrity is important to us”.

“If the situation deteriorates, all countries in the region will be affected,” Erdogan told a joint media appearance with Abiy.

Northern Ethiopia has been racked by fighting since last November when Abiy sent troops to topple the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the region’s then governing party.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have fled to refugee camps in Sudan, to escape a conflict that the United Nations said has pushed 400,000 people into famine-like conditions.

In July, the UN warned more than 100,000 children in Tigray could suffer life-threatening malnutrition in the next 12 months.

Ankara and Addis Ababa have friendly relations and the two leaders pledged to boost economic cooperation and trade.

Abiy said the two countries’ relationship was built on “mutual respect and trust”.

Erdoğan and Abiy oversaw the signing of military agreements, including a military financial cooperation deal. Details of the deals were not immediately available.

Meanwhile, Erdoğan, who hosted General Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman al-Burhan, chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, in Ankara last week, said Turkey was also prepared to contribute toward a peaceful resolution of a dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan over the Al-Fashaga region.

“We are ready to make any contribution to an amicable resolution of the problem, including mediation,” he said.