MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Ethiopia is hoping that today’s visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken will set the country on a more normal diplomatic path with the U.S. Relations have been strained by a devastating civil war in northern Ethiopia. Blinken wants to see more progress on the cease-fire, as NPR’s Michele Kelemen reports.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: A Nobel Peace Prize winner whose image was shattered during the war in Tigray, Ethiopia’s prime minister seems eager to turn a page with the U.S. Abiy Ahmed says he agreed with Blinken to strengthen relations. The secretary put it this way.
ANTONY BLINKEN: As I conveyed to Prime Minister Abiy, the United States, as Ethiopia’s largest bilateral donor, providing over $3 billion in humanitarian assistance since 2020, we will continue to be there for Ethiopians.
KELEMEN: But he says before the U.S….
