The International Crisis Group posted on 30 October 2026 a 38-minute podcast titled "The View from Eritrea" with Alan Boswell and Giulia Paravicini, Reuters senior correspondent.
Giulia Paravicini offers her impressions of life in Eritrea following a recent 10-day visit to Asmara. She noted the limited access by Eritreans to the internet and how little the city has changed over the years.
Eritrean officials made clear that they are not an existential threat to Ethiopia and have no interest in toppling the Abiy Ahmed government. They said no channels of communication are open with the Ethiopian government.
Eritrea believes Ethiopia is threatening Eritrean sovereignty by seeking access to the sea and implying that could include militarily taking the port of Assab. Eritrean officials denied training and arming Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces but acknowledged they are in contact with them.
Paravicini concluded that it appears Eritrea did help organize the anti-government coalition groups in Ethiopia. At the beginning of the most recent conflict in Tigray Region, Eritrean forces apparently entered Ethiopia in support of the TPLF but subsequently retreated to Eritrea. Asmara denied that its forces entered Ethiopia. Global diplomacy was probably instrumental in preventing another war between Ethiopia and Eritrea and any effort by Ethiopia to seize Assab.
Eritrean officials had no interest in discussing relations with the Gulf States or the ongoing conflict in neighboring Sudan. They did underscore close ties with Egypt and Cairo's support for Eritrea. They also said they are ready to improve ties with any country, including the United States.
