State Department · Sunday, October 4, 2026
United States urges Ethiopia and Eritrea to hold back
The File desk · Oct 4, 2026, 11:02 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed (State Department press statement, Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, Oct. 3, 2026)
The State Department said Saturday that rising tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea could spill across the Horn of Africa. Spokesman Thomas “Tommy” Pigott urged both governments to respect their neighbors’ borders, hold back, and return to the talks they agreed in their Legal instrument The agreement the State Department cited on Oct. 3, 2026, when it urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to return to dialogue and cooperation. The statement calls it their 2018 peace framework and does not reprint the text.2018 Ethiopia–Eritrea peace framework
The press statement is dated Oct. 3, 2026. It comes from the Office of the Spokesman.
Pigott wrote that cross-border tensions “have the potential to affect the entire region,” and that the Horn of Africa “cannot sustain another military conflict and humanitarian crisis.” He said a war would put current U.S. work with both countries at risk.
The ask is specific: “respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their neighbors, exercise maximum restraint and return to dialogue and cooperation as agreed in their Legal instrument The agreement the State Department cited on Oct. 3, 2026, when it urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to return to dialogue and cooperation. The statement calls it their 2018 peace framework and does not reprint the text.2018 Ethiopia–Eritrea peace framework
The statement does not describe troop movements, name a border incident, or reprint the 2018 text. It says dialogue is “the only path toward sustainable security, economic growth, and prosperity.”
What is still unknown or disputed
- What each government has done in the past few days. The statement does not say.
- The articles of the . They are not in this release.
Legal instrument
2018 Ethiopia–Eritrea peace framework
The agreement the State Department cited on Oct. 3, 2026, when it urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to return to dialogue and cooperation. The statement calls it their 2018 peace framework and does not reprint the text.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
U.S. statement on increased tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea
U.S. Department of State · October 3, 2026
Press statement by Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, spokesman, Oct. 3, 2026. Urges Ethiopia and Eritrea to respect neighbors’ sovereignty and territorial integrity, exercise maximum restraint, and return to dialogue and cooperation as agreed in their
.Legal instrument
2018 Ethiopia–Eritrea peace framework
The agreement the State Department cited on Oct. 3, 2026, when it urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to return to dialogue and cooperation. The statement calls it their 2018 peace framework and does not reprint the text.
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/10/u-s-statement-on-increased-tensions-between-ethiopia-and-eritrea/