European Union: We will impose sanctions on Ethiopia

European Union Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said today, Monday, that the situation in Ethiopia requires consideration of the possibility of using all options available to us, including sanctions.

He added that “the Nile water can be useful to all parties when an agreement is reached, and this can only happen through good faith negotiations.”

Ali stressed the readiness to use sanctions against Ethiopia if peace is not achieved and humanitarian aid does not reach Tigray.

“We urge the parties to the Renaissance Dam crisis to continue the dialogue,” he said.

US sanctions

The United States of America imposed “extensive” economic sanctions on Ethiopia, in order to push the Ethiopian government headed by Abi Ahmed to end the conflict in the Tigray region, which has killed tens of thousands of civilians and displaced hundreds of thousands of others.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that visa restrictions would be imposed targeting “any current or former Ethiopian or Eritrean government officials, members of the security forces, or other personnel … who are responsible for, or complicit in, obstructing the resolution of the crisis in Tigray”.

For its part, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry threatened today, Monday, to “re-evaluate relations” with the United States, after the US State Department announced imposing sanctions on Ethiopian officials in connection with tensions in the Ethiopian Tigray region.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said, in a statement posted on its Facebook page, “If this determination to interfere in our internal affairs and undermine bilateral relations continues… the government will be forced to re-evaluate its relations with the United States, which may have repercussions beyond our bilateral relationship.” “.

And Bloomberg Agency notes that this move will cast a shadow over the relations between two of the oldest allies in the fight against Islamic extremism in the Horn of Africa.

Sources familiar with the case said on Saturday that the US sanctions will mainly affect funding to support Ethiopia’s budget, and will include submitting a request to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to stop funding for the East African country.