ADDIS ABABA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Sunday accusations by Eritrea of its supporting Eritrean rebel movements as "baseless."
The Eritrea Ministry of Information (MoI) issued a press statement on Wednesday accusing neighboring nations, Sudan and Ethiopia, of conspiring to support Eritrean rebel groups.
The statement from Eritrea further said Ethiopia and Sudan have agreed to deploy Eritrean armed opposition groups along the two countries' borders with Eritrea to facilitate hit and run attacks on the Red Sea nation.
Speaking exclusively to Xinhua, Meles Alem, Spokesperson of Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), said the allegations by Eritrea that Ethiopia is working together with Sudan to support Eritrean rebel movements are totally false.
He further said Ethiopia's offer to have unconditional negotiation and dialogue with Eritrea still stands despite the two countries' current bitter standoff.
Eritrea and its southern neighbor Ethiopia fought a blood border war from 1998 to 2000, which killed an estimated 70,000 people.
Since then, the two countries have been engaged in a state of armed standoff along their common border punctuated occasionally by sporadic small-scale clashes.
Eritrea has tense relationship with its eastern neighbor Sudan, with both countries accusing each other of supporting rival rebel groups.