Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Ethiopia Monday disclosed the failure of peace negotiations in Algiers, a follow-up to the cessation of hostilities agreement it reached with neighbouring Eritrea for a comprehensive settlement of their border conflict that lasted more than two years.

The indirect negotiations in Algiers between Ethiopia foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin and his Eritrean counterpart, Ali Seid Abdella, which started 23 October, was said to have abruptly ended over the weekend.

Ethiopian government spokesman Haile-Kiros Gessese said this happened "when the Eritrean side made repeated attempts avoiding negations on substantive issues and finally said it was opposed to arbitration for demarcating the borders between the two countries."

Gessese, who indicated that Seyoum returned home Saturday, said the peace talks "ended in failure" later the same day.

He said the negotiators of the "proximity talks" told the two sides that they would begin shuttle diplomacy within two to three weeks between Addis Ababa and Asmara to revive the peace process.

Gessese told a press conference that from the start of the negotiations the Eritrean side "made deliberate efforts to avoid consideration of substantive issues."

"The proceedings were delayed awaiting the arrival of the legal adviser of the Eritrean side," he said.

The Ethiopian government spokesman further stated that the Ethiopian side had wanted the meeting to consider the fate of some 30,000 of its citizens alleged to be languishing in 30 military camps and prisons in Eritrea.

"We wanted the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) to be given access to these prisoners to arrange their return home, but so far the ICRC was able to see about 5,000 of them," he said.

Gessese said Ethiopia also wanted negotiations on two specific compensations, involving incoming and outgoing goods to and from Ethiopia that were "looted" at the Eritrean ports of Assab and Massawa.

The other involved properties said belonging to over 70,000 Ethiopians who were expelled at the outbreak of the border conflict in early May 1998, and up until the 18 June cessation of hostilities agreement.

He also claimed that Eritrea refused to consider arbitration to determine what constitutes the border between the two countries.

The Ethiopian government spokesman further accused Eritrean of being opposed to arbitration and wanted cartography and experts from the UN to proceed with the demarcation and delineation of the common border as it presently stands.

He said Ethiopia wanted arbitration to settle the border problem once and for all on the basis of the boundary inherited during colonial rule, and approved by the OAU in 1964.

There are several treaties Ethiopia had entered concerning Eritrea's boundary when it was under Italian colonial rule, which the Addis Ababa government at that time had concluded with Italy, he added.

Gessese further accused Eritrean authorities of "indifference" to the comprehensive peace negotiations as a follow up to the cessation of hostility agreements.

He, however, said that despite Eritrea's alleged refusal of arbitration to determine their common border, Ethiopia will abide by the cessation of hostilities agreement and pull out its forces from positions they occupy in Eritrea, after the deployment of UN peacekeeping forces.

The UN force is to monitor the cease-fire and the "temporary security zone" of 25km within Eritrea along the entire common border.

He declined to predict the attitude of Ethiopian government toward the planned shuttle diplomacy to revive the negotiations.

The OAU, UN, the European Union, the US and Algeria intend to embark on the diplomatic shuttle within two weeks.