Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday that he is honoured that South Africa has been requested to host the AU-led peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigray forces, according to a presidential spokesperson.
The peace talks, which have been convened to find a peaceful and sustainable solution to the devastating conflict in the Tigray region, began on Tuesday and will end on Saturday.
The talks hosted by South Africa are the first formal peace talks aimed at ending two years of war between the Ethiopian army and forces from the country’s northern region of Tigray.
According to a Presidency spokesperson, Ramaphosa readily agreed when he received the AU’s request for South Africa to host the peace talks, as such talks are in line with South Africa’s foreign policy objectives of a secure and conflict-free continent.
The talks are being facilitated by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, who is being supported by former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African deputy president Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a spokesperson for the Tigray forces, recently said the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) wanted an immediate cessation of hostilities, unrestricted humanitarian access and the withdrawal of forces from neighbouring Eritrea, which have fought alongside Ethiopian federal troops throughout the conflict, citing a report by The Guardian.