Russia Tells Outside Actors to Stay Out of Ethiopia's Internal Affairs

Russia has urged external actors to refrain from interfering in Ethiopia's internal affairs, and said it is concerned about the security situation that has again worsened in the Tigray, Afar and Amhara regions, Tikvah Ethiopia reported on Sunday evening.

Moscow said it has received reports of renewed clashes between federal government forces and Tigrayan armed groups, which it described as illegal.

Two statements, two days

The Russian statement arrived hours after a similar one from the United Arab Emirates, which said it would continue to support Ethiopia's sovereignty, the unity of its people, its territorial integrity, and its peace, security and stability, and condemned attacks on federal forces.

Taken together, the two statements tell a reader more about positioning than about the fighting. Both frame the conflict as an internal matter with an external temptation attached, and both are addressed less to the combatants than to whoever else might be considering involvement. Neither country offered a mediation proposal.

For businesses, the practical content is thin but not zero. Sovereign risk pricing responds to which capitals are willing to say the word "territorial integrity" out loud, and this week two of Ethiopia's more consequential partners have said it within a day of each other. That is the kind of signal that shapes the cost of trade finance before it shapes anything on the ground.

Open

Russia did not name the external actors it had in mind, did not say what reports it had received or from whom, and did not indicate whether it intends to raise the matter at the UN Security Council. Neither the federal government nor the Tigray authorities responded publicly to the statement.

Sources: Tikvah Ethiopia, 27 September 2026, Tikvah Ethiopia, 27 September 2026