Asmara — President Isaias Afwerki underscored that the establishment of alliances and eagerly looking for them that undermine respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity is not the political culture of Eritrea at all. And as such, the setting up of any foreign military base in Eritrea on the part of any party is totally unacceptable, he elaborated.

The President made the remarks in an interview he gave to the Arabic Service of Aljazeera Television. He pointed out that the rumors being disseminated recently through media outlets alleging that there exist Israeli and Iranian military bases in Eritrea is but part and parcel of the concerted media, diplomatic and economic campaign resorted to and sponsored by the succeeding Administrations in Washington designed to tarnish Eritrea's image. And if at all there is any party that wishes to confirm this, Eritrea opens its doors to anybody to personally come and prove through traveling to any place at any time at the expense of the Eritrean government, he added. The President said that Eritrea has been exposing the repeated sheer lies of authors who have been concocting such slander.

Replying to a question on allegations that Eritrea is viewed as a 'hostile entity' in the region, President Isaias noted that a party that has gone through war does not long for it, and indicated that the problem Eritrea had faced over the past 18 years emanated from acts of provocation and external interference aimed at undermining its sovereignty, and thus was compelled to confront it. In this respect, he explained that the declaration of war in 1998 against Eritrea by the ruling regime in Ethiopia with the backing of the US constitutes a naked invasion in a bid to escape from internal problems.

Stating that Eritrea's foreign relations strategy is based on promoting secure environment, the President underlined that it is ready to work closely with all countries in the region towards achieving this goal.

As regards the Somalia issue, President Isaias pointed out that Eritrea's concern is the Somali issue and not that of individuals and groups, and hence if at all a lasting solution is to be achieved to the prevailing turmoil and instability in the country, the reconstitution of Somalia should be ensured with the participation of all Somali nationals, and thus assume its rightful role in both regional and international forums.

He further indicated that imposing so-called "government" from the outside and acts of interference through servants only complicate matters rather than bring about a solution. In this connection, the President stressed the need for creating conducive atmosphere and ground for the Somali people to resolve their issue themselves. To this end, President Isaias asserted that Eritrea along with other concerned parties is striving to play modest role.