President Aferwerki has said that Eritrea will do what is necessary to defend its sovereignty, while insisting that it does not want a military confrontation with Ethiopia over the two countries' borders.

Ethiopia has demanded that Eritrean troops withdraw from a disputed triangle of land, measuring 400 square kilometres, before negotiations can start on a settlement.

But President Aferwerki said in an interview that withdrawal was out of the question.

"That's unthinkable. It's unthinkable. It's like telling the government in this country to migrate somewhere else with its own people and leave this land and its sovereign territory to someone else who is threatening to use force," he said, speaking from his office with a map of Eritrea folded on his desk.

"Morally it's not acceptable. Physically it's never going to happen."

There are four border areas under dispute. Eritrea says the border as drawn up under colonial times cannot be changed. But Ethiopia says that some land claimed by Eritrea belongs to it.

President says he is against war

However, the president insisted that Eritrea wanted a negotiated settlement with Ethiopia because he said everyone would lose out if it came to war.

He said that Eritrea had proposed that the affected areas be demilitarised and that international observers be deployed until a final settlement is found.