In July this year, President Isaias Afewerki’s interview with local media on the regional and global situation was broadcast live on radio and television, and later published in Hadas Eritrea newspaper. The August 2025 issue of Youth magazine published these selected quotations for documentation and reflection. Here we present the English Translation of the quotations.
On International Politics
“Justice is the choice of all the people. People of the world want peace, use their resources, and to share in partnership. Cold War politics denied this right. If there is violence, looting, or invasion anywhere—we must resist it. We were denied our sovereignty for fifty years, and we paid heavily to win it back.”
“The single-minded pursuit of domination is a doomed project. It has brought only thirty years of loss. Ukraine’s crisis is its consequence. Even ‘Make America Great Again’ is an admission that the old dream has failed.”
“Our time is transitional. The people of the world do not ask for ideology—they ask to live in peace, to cooperate, to be free from plunder. This is not philosophy. It is the irrevocable choice of humanity.”
On African Politics
“Africa has suffered injustices from outside. But accusation and blaiming alone is not enough. We must ask ourselves: What have we done? What must we do? Liberation is not being complaint but it is taking responsibility.”
“There is no worse slavery than dependency. When aid and subsidies dry-up , it is a lesson: Africa must create value, not merely sell raw materials.”
“The tragedy of Africa is not lack of wealth but the stifling of its labor and intellect. Our brightest minds are drained, our labor suppressed. This must end.”
“Ethnic divisions and destructive politics are tearing Africa apart. Respect for sovereignty, nation-building, and integration are the only path forward. Stability is the condition of progress.”
On Engagement with the United States
“After independence, we forgave Washington’s wrongs. Engagement was not to beg, but to correct mistakes.”
“In 2017 we initiated dialogue, not to ask concessions, but to challenge the destruction caused by U.S. policies. The response was positive—but it did not last. Under Biden, it worsened.”
“With Trump’s return, we will continue the initiative. But engagement is not for gifts. It is to correct misguided policies in the Horn of Africa. From 2026–2028, we will push hard. Engagement with the U.S. is a priority, but it will be balanced—with Russia, China, India, Latin America, Japan, Korea. The guiding principle is the same.”
On Ethiopia
“For eighty years, Eritrea never sought war of conquest. We were forced into wars, and we learned from them. But for Ethiopia filing complaints to the UN to mask war declarations is childish. They need to sort their own house first.”
“To boast of drones, missiles, and fantasies of seizing Assab or invading through the North (Gash-Barka) is pure madness. Such naïve dreams risk dragging the Ethiopian people into disaster. Any fool can attack you—but we will not be distracted by empty threats.”
“The propaganda that ‘the U.S., France, or the UAE are with us’ is reckless. It misleads not only Ethiopians but the region. Talk of ports and sea windows is delusion. To dream of controlling Suez, Assab, Djibouti, Berbera, Mogadishu, and beyond to Dar es Salaam is the imagination of a madman.”
On Regional Complementarity
“Regional complementarity is not an option—it is an irreplaceable choice. External conspiracies are real, but the deeper problem lies in our own weaknesses. Nation-building and regional cooperation must advance hand in hand.”
On Sudan
“There is no Sudanese civil war. What we see is an invasion, instigated from outside.”
“Sudan once had Africa’s most developed politics. But since 1989, impostors trading in the name of Islam seized power and ruined the state. The looting is endless, and the people rose in protest.”
“Sudan needs a bridge to peace—a transitional system of citizenship that represents all people, free of division, building sovereign institutions. The army must safeguard this process. Today’s so-called two-generals war is foreign-engineered sabotage.”
“Libya, Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia—these are corridors of interference. Some say ‘UAE.’ But the UAE acts as an agent of others. This is not Sheikh Zayed’s legacy. Behind it are hidden hands. Yet Sudan’s stability remains vital not only for our region but beyond.”