Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Ethiopia’s leader called Tuesday for international “mediation” with Eritrea over access to the sea, insisting on an “irreversible” claim to the coastline as tensions rise between the Horn of Africa neighbours.

Relations are once again strained more than 30 years after Eritrea gained independence and left Ethiopia landlocked.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won a Nobel Peace Prize for forging a peace deal with Eritrea in 2018.

But his insistent demands on sea access have provoked anger in Eritrea, which says Ethiopia covets its southeastern port city of Assab on the Red Sea.

“Ethiopia’s request for access to the sea is irreversible. We have no intention of going to war with Eritrea. On the contrary, we are convinced that this issue can be resolved peacefully,” Abiy told parliament on Tuesday.

Abiy said he had held discussions on the issue with the United States, Russia, China, African Union and European Union.

“We… have requested their mediation to find a lasting solution,” he said.

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Ghebremeskel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

After Eritrean independence in 1993, the two countries fought a bloody border war from 1998 to 2000, leaving tens of thousands dead.

Relations improved when Abiy came to power in 2018 and signed the peace deal with President Isaias Afwerki, who has ruled Eritrea with an iron fist since independence.

Eritrean troops backed Ethiopian federal forces during a civil war in the Tigray region between 2020 and 2022, which left an estimated 600,000 people dead, according to the African Union.

But since the end of the conflict relations have turned frosty.

In October, Ethiopia accused Eritrea of financing armed groups on its territory, which Asmara labelled “a false charade”.

Sparsely populated Eritrea, home to some 3.5 million people, has moved closer to Egypt, which also has strained relations with Ethiopia.

© Agence France-Presse