After days of military movements by the opposition Tigray Liberation Front and battles with the Ethiopian federal government, there were regional and international calls to stop the unrest and return to the path of dialogue.
These calls, issued by Qatar, the Emirates, Djibouti, the United States, and the European and African Unions, experts in African affairs who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat believe that they may enhance the current mediation to return the parties to the 2022 agreement, or new mediation, with the presence of a broader coalition from the front that needs a new expanded agreement.
The battles between the government and the Tigray Front continue for the fifth day, according to Ethiopian media. The “Tigray forces” seized 3 airports in the region, and launched attacks in the Afar and Amhara regions in cooperation with their allies there, last week, in the most dangerous escalation since the devastating war that took place between 2020 and 2022 against the federal government forces.
Qatar condemned the “military escalation against the Ethiopian federal forces,” affirming its “full support for all efforts aimed at reducing tension in Ethiopia.” On Sunday, Djibouti also called for reducing the escalation in Ethiopia and settling disputes through dialogue.
Last Friday, the UAE called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, a reduction in escalation, and a commitment to the Pretoria Peace Agreement, renewing its support for all efforts aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability in Ethiopia.
Also, the African Union called in a statement during the past hours for calm, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, also called for an immediate reduction in tensions, reiterating in a statement its support for the efforts of the African Union, including those made by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, aimed at reducing tensions and re-engaging the parties in the talks in good faith under the framework of the Pretoria Agreement.
Finally, the European Union called for an immediate reduction of the escalation in northern Ethiopia, stressing its continued support for the efforts to reduce the escalation, the mediation process led by the African Union, and the meaningful dialogue between the parties.
Ethiopian political analyst Abdel Shakur Abdel Samad believes that these intense positions want to return to the negotiating table and activate the Pretoria Agreement, stressing that returning to the understandings and implementing the agreement is in the interest of the Ethiopian government. It is not interested in being drawn into a war of attrition sought by certain parties, and commitment to the Pretoria path represents the highest interest of Ethiopia and all countries of the region.
The expert in African affairs, Abdel Moneim Abu Idris, points out that the Tigray Front has previously welcomed any peace steps, in addition to the fact that these calls recognize the importance of Ethiopia’s stability for security in the region. Abu Idris believes that this accelerated international movement requires a new equation greater than the 2022 Pretoria Agreement due to the entry of new actors into the field with the formation of the new armed coalition.
A few days ago, 7 groups opposed to the federal government in different regions of the country, including the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the Fano militia in Amhara, and the Oromo Liberation Army, announced an alliance aimed at overthrowing the ruling authority in Addis Ababa.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front previously took power in 1991 and ruled Ethiopia for 3 decades before Abiy Ahmed marginalized it when he assumed the prime ministership in 2018. What contributed to the outbreak of civil war.
Although the “Pretoria Peace Agreement” in 2022 ended that war and established a cautious calm, the clashes renewed in late 2025. The federal government at that time launched drone strikes on Tigray and mobilized its forces on the borders of the region, amid accusations from both sides of violating the agreement.
Abu Idris believes that any mediation, regardless of the party that carries it out, if it is not accompanied by an internal will that wants to turn the page on the conflicts in the country, will not achieve complete success. The new mediation may succeed in reaching a temporary truce, but it could collapse at any time.
Regarding the extent of the response of field leaders within the opposition front, Abdel Samad explained that the military, economic and political reality within the Tigray region and the current balance of power do not give these parties the option of refusal. Which will eventually force it to accept the ongoing efforts to return to the agreement.
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Saturday that he does not want to “merge” the efforts of the United States and China in the field of artificial intelligence, despite the “big discussion” he had this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding this technology.
Trump told reporters, as he left Washington for Knoxville, Texas, that China “wants to stop our progress because we are ahead of it by a large margin, and we will maintain that,” adding: “I would prefer that we not merge because we are ahead by a large margin... When you are in the lead, do not open the way for the other party.”
Trump's statements came a day after the conclusion of Xi's visit to Washington, and at a time when the White House announced that the two countries had agreed to create a "communication channel" to address incidents related to artificial intelligence, in a move that reflects limited coordination between the two competing powers without extending to broader cooperation in developing technology.
Limited coordination with Beijing
The White House stated in a document that the two countries established a “dialogue between the United States and China regarding (super-intelligence) to exchange views on the risks and benefits” associated with artificial intelligence, and they also agreed to establish a “bilateral communication channel” to address incidents in this field. In a report on the results of the summit on Saturday, Chinese official media confirmed the agreement to establish a hotline for artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence, which Trump has been describing as “superior intelligence” for days, was one of the main topics he discussed with Xi during his three-day visit to Washington that concluded on Friday. Trump said on Saturday that the two sides had a “big discussion” about this file, before at the same time reducing the size of the talks, explaining that they “did not spend a long time” discussing it.
The two countries competing in the field of artificial intelligence are subject to increasing criticism regarding the issue of risks resulting from artificial intelligence, after recording a number of incidents that raised fears that this technology might escape the control of its creators. The Chinese President believed that Washington and Beijing have a responsibility to “develop and manage artificial intelligence to serve the public good, and to ensure that its development always remains under human supervision.”
As for Trump, his position was different. He expressed his adherence to “the current level of organization,” and stressed that any coordination with Beijing does not mean openness to integrating efforts in this sector. He said that China seeks to slow down American progress, adding that the United States is ahead of it “by a large margin.”
Last week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent proposed creating a mechanism for mutual notification between the two countries regarding any incidents in the field of artificial intelligence “related to national security.” He added: “We believe that it is important to move from a situation shrouded in ambiguity to more transparency between the first and second powers in the world in the field of artificial intelligence.”
New breakthrough
The announcement of a new communication channel between Beijing and Washington regarding artificial intelligence coincided with the disclosure of a worrying new hack by the company OpenAI.
Yesterday, the leading company admitted that its artificial intelligence tools published on the Internet 53 images sent by users via its “GPT Chat” platform, in a new leak, this time extending to the data of the company’s own users.
It also confirmed that its tools had penetrated websites belonging to US federal agencies, thus confirming information previously reported by the New York Times, but indicating that it had only collected information available to the public.
OpenAI explained that the links to the 53 images were not publicly available, and were mistakenly published on electronic hosting sites, and indicated that most of them were removed with the help of the relevant hosting service providers, and that work is underway to remove the remaining images, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
These images were sent from accounts whose owners agreed to use their data to develop the company's models. Before being used, it passed through a personal data privacy filter, and the company confirmed that the images could no longer be linked to the users who sent them. OpenAI did not clarify whether these images showed identifiable people or sensitive data, and did not reveal further details in response to questions from Agence France-Presse.
The images were published as a result of the behavior of “artificial intelligence agents”, which is software designed based on artificial intelligence models and capable of performing a series of sequential tasks autonomously. The company explained that proxy artificial intelligence tools being used in the framework of its research transferred training data to external services, most of which was not issued by users, and pointed out that most of the transfers took place before it enhanced security around its research in August.
It confirmed that it is currently conducting a comprehensive survey of the activities of its previous proxy tools, in a process that will take several months.
The company's CEO, Sam Altman, admitted on Friday that "we were not as fast as we had hoped" in the review and accident detection processes, justifying this by the huge volume of data that must be analysed.
An OpenAI spokesperson told Agence France-Presse that “the majority of the activities that have been subject to scrutiny so far have been standard search tasks, such as accessing publicly available content on the Internet to answer questions.” He added, "Some of these activities included government websites, as our models often resort to them as reference sources for public information."
Thus, the company confirmed that its models accessed public information on the websites of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the body that regulates financial markets, before publishing part of them on another page on the Internet, stressing that it did not find any trace of access to information that is not available to the public.
US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping drank tea at the White House on Friday and visited the National Archives, concluding a three-day summit in which personal diplomacy overshadowed major achievements in economic relations.
The two leaders praised each other in comments they made over tea in the White House's "Red Room." Trump said that the summit between the two largest economies in the world accomplished big things, adding: “I think our farmers will be happy,” but he did not provide details.
He explained: “America is very happy with this visit, and I am sure that China is very happy as well.”
Xi said that the relationship between the United States and China has developed into a constructive relationship characterized by “strategic stability based on respect, fairness and reciprocity.”
Xi added that he and Trump will have two more opportunities to meet this year, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in China and the G20 summit in Miami. He said: “I welcome your visit to China, Mr. President and First Lady.”
Business relations
The summit was characterized by luxury and included air shows, tours, and a luxurious official dinner, but it was dazzling in form and poor in content, according to what Reuters reported.
However, Trump highlighted progress made under the bilateral trade mechanism, citing what he described as increased market access for American farmers and ranchers, while the two leaders identified artificial intelligence as an area for cooperation.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNN: that. with me. CNN, on Friday, said that details of the limited agreements reached by the two sides regarding their tense trade relations will be published on Monday.
He added: “We are in a regulated trade situation... We have made progress, and I believe that on Monday, we will announce more details about what we have accomplished over the past few weeks in negotiations with the Chinese.”
Greer went on to say that the United States has agreed with China to exclude certain essential goods from trade disputes, including exports to China of agricultural products and medical devices, and imports of consumer goods and non-sensitive goods.
A tour of the National Archives
The summit concluded at the US National Archives, and Trump and Xi appeared to review the US Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.
Trump said in a speech on Thursday to welcome Xi that they would also see “artifacts that testify to the long and cherished relationship” between China and the United States and “cultural exchanges” between them.
Trump said: “Just as our ancestors reached across the ocean centuries ago to trade, learn, and build a better world, our two countries are already doing the same, and we are very proud of that and of the relationship between us.”
China has not commented on the archive visit, but analysts say Xi may have been keen to see records relating to the US transfer of recognition from Taiwan to communist China in 1979.
In response to a question, Trump said that he discussed Iran with Xi, adding: “I think we will achieve great results,” without providing further details. Beijing denies US allegations of helping Iran's leaders in the conflict that Trump started in February.
China is pressing on Taiwan
China considers Taiwan, which has a democratic system of government, part of its territory, and Xi has long sought to convince Trump to declare that the United States opposes Taiwan independence, rather than simply saying that it does not support independence, which has been Washington's official position for decades.
He is also keen to get the United States to stop arms sales to the island.
As expected, Xi pressed Trump on Taiwan on Thursday, saying he hoped the United States would “handle the Taiwan issue wisely.” China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that Xi "hopes that the American side will adhere to the correct position of opposing (Taiwan independence)."
Although the United States, like most countries, does not have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Washington is its most important international supporter, and is obligated, under American law, to provide it with the necessary means to defend itself.
Washington's allies in Asia will be closely watching how Trump speaks about Taiwan after Xi's visit.
After a summit with Xi in May, Trump, whose administration in December approved an arms deal with Taiwan worth $11 billion, said he had suspended a second deal, worth about $14 billion, describing it as “a very good negotiating chip.”
New foundation
Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said Beijing may believe it has established a new foundation on Taiwan with Trump.
He added that Xi's use of the word "commitment" was revealing because it "indicates that Beijing believes Washington is already behaving the way it wants."
He continued, "With the current halt in arms sales to Taiwan, China may increasingly view this as a new basis rather than just a temporary pause."
He explained: “Beijing’s goal is to get Trump to include Chinese red lines in his own definition of a stable relationship.”
Senate Democrats criticized the summit on Thursday, saying Trump failed to obtain significant concessions from Beijing on trade, security, artificial intelligence or human rights.
They also criticized Trump for not publicly addressing Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, and called for the immediate delivery of approved military aid and arms sales to the island.
