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Source: BBC Amharic Service

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen stated that the federal government plans to resolve the crisis in Tigray through dialogue.

The Minister briefed members of the diplomatic community based in Addis Ababa on the current situation in Tigray and is currently holding a closed-door meeting.

Demeke said the Ethiopian government plans to hold talks with legally registered political parties, low level TPLF members who are willing to solve the problem, civil society and elders to resolve the crisis in Tigray sustainably and bring about lasting peace.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen called on the diplomats saying "we need your support; we need your help and friendship".

Demeke Mekonnen blamed the TPLF for its refusal to resolve its differences with the federal government peacefully and for being the cause of the war that ensued.

He also said that the TPLF made ethnic based calls making the young people to participate in the war and was the cause for the displacement of many citizens from their homeland.

He accused the TPLF saying ‘while the federal government built telecoms, electricity, banking and other infrastructure, the TPLF was destroying them’.

Demeke recalled that a team is investigating the alleged human rights abuses in Tigray State and called on the international community to refrain from taking sides before the result of the investigation is made official.
On the other hand, Demeke said the federal government is committed to providing humanitarian assistance to those in need. He said the accusation that the government is "using famine as a [weapon of] war" is a lie and that the government has no intention of doing such a thing.

He said the government's declaration of an immediate ceasefire would enable residents of the region to focus on their farming activities during the winter season and prevent more severe problems from manifesting.
Following the request by the Tigray State interim Administration for the federal government to undertake a humanitarian ceasefire, [the fed] had announced a ceasefire.

It is to be recalled that following this, on Monday, June 28, 2021, the Ethiopian Defense Forces withdrew from the Tigray Region and various areas fell into the hands of the rebels.