The Ethiopian ambassador to Russia is also accredited to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

[4] Paul Henze notes that the reasons of Mashkov's visits were "no doubt political, but the fact that both countries were Orthodox encouraged favorable attitudes on both sides.

[10] Ethiopia established friendly relations with the Soviet Union following a 1974 uprising that forced the long serving Emperor Haile Selassie to cede power to a military council called the Derg ("Committee" in Ge'ez).

[13] After the execution of Mengistu's rival, Major Sisal Habte, Soviet support for the regime grew substantially, beginning with a secret $100 million arms deal in December 1976.

In May 1977, Mengistu traveled to Moscow to sign a "Declaration on the Principles of Friendly Relations and Cooperation" and to conclude a second arms deal worth about $385 million.

[15] Moscow's public embrace of Mengistu concerned Siad Barre's regime in Somalia, who worried about the implications of friendly Soviet-Ethiopian relations on their own alliance with the USSR.

[15] Though Somalia appeared to be on the brink of victory after gaining control of 90% of the area, the Ethiopians were able to launch a counter offensive with the help of newly arrived Soviet arms and a South Yemeni brigade.

[15] Consequently, the USSR orchestrated a massive transport of armaments, Cuban combat troops and Soviet military advisors to Ethiopia.

[20] To this end, Gorbachev called for "the just political settlement of international crisis and regional conflicts" at the 27th Congress of the Communist Party in March 1986.

[25] Despite the urging of Soviet advisers, Mengistu resisted implementing political and economic reforms and banned discussion of perestroika and glasnost from Ethiopian media.

[28] In July 1989, the head of the Soviet Foreign Ministry's African Department, Yuri Yukalov, met with Eritrean representatives in London in an attempt to advance the peace process.

[29] In September 1989, the Soviet Deputy Minister of Defense, General V. Varennikov, delivered a message to Mengistu from Gorbachev confirming Moscow's decision to end military aid to Ethiopia.

This included mediation between the regime and the Eritrea People's Liberation Front by American Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Herman Cohen.

During the Tigray War, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said the issue was an internal affair of Ethiopia and that Russia supported the Ethiopian government's efforts.