Eritrea sends delegation to rival Ethiopia for peace talks

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) " Eritrean diplomats say the reclusive nation's president is sending a rare delegation to neighboring Ethiopia for peace talks days after Ethiopia's new prime minister took a major step toward calming deadly tensions with its decades-long rival.

Eritrean ambassadors say on social media that longtime President Isaias Afwerki announced the news Wednesday morning during a Martyrs Day celebration in the capital, Asmara. The ambassador to Kenya calls it a "new chapter of peace and reconciliation between the Eritrean and Ethiopian people."

Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate also is reporting Afwerki's comments.

Ethiopia this month announced it will fully accept the terms of a peace agreement with Eritrea signed in 2000 to end a two-year border war that killed tens of thousands. The countries have skirmished since then.