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US urges cutbacks in UN force
23/05/2006 13:51 - (SA)
New York - The United States pressed the security council on Monday to scale back the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea by the end of the month after the Horn of Africa neighbours failed to make progress last week in meeting council demands.
However, Russia opposed trimming the 3 300-strong UN force preserving a shaky peace between the former foes after their two-year border war, which ended in a 2000 peace deal.
Diplomats said that UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno, addressing the council behind closed doors, also warned that cutbacks would impair the mission's ability to do its job.
The 15-nation security council, in a May 15 resolution, had given Ethiopia and Eritrea until May 31 to accept the border drawn for them by international experts and end all restrictions on UN peacekeepers.
Greek ambassador to lead the initiative
If they failed to do so, the measure pledged to quickly scale back the UN force, which monitored a buffer zone along the 620-mile (1 000km) frontier.
Council members decided on Monday to begin drafting a resolution to carry out that pledge, and asked Greek ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis to lead the initiative.
But, Vassilakis said that he could not say for certain that the mission would end up smaller. He said: "I don't want to prejudge what will be the final outcome", citing Guehenno's opposition to a downsizing.
However, US ambassador John Bolton said Washington wanted both a smaller UN force and a more modest mandate, downgrading the operation to an observer mission.
Moscow 'not very supportive'
Bolton said: "We would not support a continuation of the mission in its present form." Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin said Moscow was "not very supportive of the idea of cutbacks in the mission."
UN troops were sent to Ethiopia and Eritrea after the 2000 peace accord. As part of the agreement, both countries agreed to accept as final and binding a new border set out for them by the international boundary commission.
But, Ethiopia rejected the border and insisted on further talks, prompting Eritrea to restrict peacekeepers' movements, including a ban on helicopter flights over its territory.
The October 2005 restrictions had stoked tensions on both sides of the border by limiting peacekeepers' ability to monitor troop movements.
Bolton said that as part of a US mediation effort, officials from both sides met for a second time last week with the members of the international boundary commission in London, but made no progress in resolving their differences.
- Reuters
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