U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently met with the signatories of the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.
Ethiopia National Security Advisor Redwan Hussein and Tigray People's Liberation Front Spokesperson Getachew Reda shared some of the process that had been achieved, according to a March 15 U.S. Department of State news release.
"In meeting with signatories today, I commended Ethiopian federal and Tigrayan regional officials delivering on the commitments agreed upon in the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and urged further action to ensure a lasting peace in northern Ethiopia," Blinken said in a March 15 Twitter post.
Hussein and Reda reported progress included silencing fun fire, delivering humanitarian assistance, restoring services and the disarming of Tigrayan heavy weapons and withdrawal of Eritrean forces, the news release reported.
Both Hussein and Reda also conceded there is much work ahead to fully implement the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, which will help ensure lasting peace, according to the news release.
Participants discussed the importance of the agreed upon disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process to be fully developed and implemented, in addition to establishing a Tigrayan Interim administration "as key to maintaining positive momentum," the release reported.
"They agreed on the need for accountability, transitional justice and reiterated their commitment to peace," the release said.
Blinken expressed his steadfast support of the peace efforts, as an observer of the African Union-led process and as a partner to Ethiopia, according to the release.
Al Jazeera reported the war between the two nations broke out in November 2020 before peace talks led to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement in late 2022.
“Ultimately, the fact that we have reached a point where we have now signed an agreement speaks volumes about the readiness on the part of the two sides to lay the past behind them to chart a new path of peace,” Reda said in the November 2022 Al Jazeera article.
