Ethiopia on Thursday announced the closure of its embassy in Eritrea and declared 10 Eritrean diplomats in Addis Ababa persona non grata.
In a statement, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said it has decided to close its embassy in Asmara in response to Eritrea’s “direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence” against Ethiopia.
According to the statement, 10 Eritrean diplomats had been involved in activities that posed a direct threat to Ethiopia’s national security, in breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The diplomats were ordered to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours.
The ministry called on the Eritrean government to cease what it described as acts contrary to the principles governing relations between sovereign states.
“Ethiopia values its strong historical, cultural and people-to-people ties with Eritrea and remains committed to peaceful coexistence, regional stability and integration,” the statement said.
