A graphic from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Democrats announcing a letter from five senators to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Ethiopia and Eritrea, released on November 11, 2026. Credit: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
G7 foreign ministers said they noted with great concern the worsening situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea, as five U.S. senators urged Washington to reject any attempt to take the port of Assab by force.
In a statement published after their meeting in France, the ministers urged all parties to exercise maximum restraint and pursue diplomatic solutions. They called for safe and unhindered humanitarian access and the protection of civilians, especially women and children, reaffirmed the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries in the region, and backed United Nations and African Union efforts to reduce tension. The G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, with the European Union.
The senators, Jeanne Shaheen, Cory Booker, Chris Coons, Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen, wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday. They asked the United States to support an immediate ceasefire and renewed mediation that includes the Fano forces and the Oromo Liberation Army, who were left out of the Pretoria agreement, and said any attempt by Ethiopia to take Assab by force will not be supported or accepted by the United States.
The letter also urged the administration to hold off on arms sales to the Ethiopian government, to press for an end to drone and heavy weapons use in civilian areas, and to work to prevent the conflict from spreading across the region, naming Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan. It said that a September 20 strike hit a convoy carrying American funded aid, and noted that Ethiopia and Egypt have expelled each other’s diplomats.
These are positions of senators and foreign ministers, not decisions of the U.S. government. Mereja Media found no Ethiopian or Eritrean government response to either document by Thursday afternoon. Mereja Media has reported on the State Department’s call for dialogue and independent probes in Amhara and Tigray, which came the same day.
Sources
- UK Foreign Office, Joint declaration following the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Paris
- Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Shaheen, Booker, Coons, Merkley, Van Hollen demand State Department action amidst escalating conflict in Ethiopia
- Semafor, Democrats urge Rubio to act on Ethiopia
- Zegabi, Five U.S. senators ask Rubio to back an Ethiopia ceasefire, halt arms sales and keep Assab off the table, Semafor reports