A cold war between Eritrea and Ethiopia might soon turn to be hot and deadly unless concrete measures are taken to resolve what could easily be the most cataclysmic war in Africa.

No less an authority than President Bill Clinton should invite both leaders, President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea and Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, to the White House for direct talks. Before the outbreak of hostilities between the two nations, both Isaias and Meles had worked together with the US in attempts to deal with the Turabi-instigated terrorism that was threatening the area.

Both the OAU and the US have repeatedly attempted to address Ethiopia's concerns that the Peace Plans, otherwise known as Technical Arrangements, were not to its liking. Ethiopian leaders have insisted that they accepted the OAU Peace Plan, including the Framework Agreement and the Modalities.

According to Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin, the Technical Arrangements were not consistent and "appear to have been drafted with the express aim of appeasing the aggressor country," and hence the governments unwillingness to accept the Plans.

However, Ethiopian leaders have raised eyebrows in the international community over their lack of sincerity in dealing with the crisis and even accused of using the delays to prepare for war.

Only last week, a Republican representative from New York, Benjamin A. Gilman, who is also chairman of the House International Relations Committee, expressed alarm and asked the US and the international community to "condemn Ethiopia's intransigence."

Now that his presidency is coming to an end, and his two Horn of Africa allies might once again be involved in a bloody war, Mr. Clinton should leave a legacy of peace in the region, the beneficiaries of which would be both the peoples of the two nations as well as the US.

With the growing menace of terrorism in the globe and the fact that Turabi and his tentacles might not have been completely neutralized, the US would have solid allies in both Eritrea and Ethiopia, both of which are in dire need of rebuilding their shattered economies and infrastructure.

Pledges of economic incentives and US cooperation directly from the president would go a long way toward reassuring both nations, especially Ethiopia, which has been very reluctant to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Ethiopia's leaders should also be convinced that they would have more to gain by making peace with Eritrea than by waging a war, which might have a domino effect and trigger unforeseen problems in the Horn of Africa.

In the mean time, the president should have both the parties agree to cease hostilities immediately, sign a moratorium during the peace talks, demilitarize the disputed zones and agree to have third parties monitor compliance with the foregoing.

It should not be lost on the president that -- as able as his emissaries have been in dealing with the Eritrean-Ethiopian crisis -- the problem is not such that could be dealt with in a "Month of Africa" declaration of January as noble as that may sound.

That a transition of power is underway in Washington can only serve to embolden those elements in the Ethiopian leadership, who seek to plunge the war-weary peoples of Eritrea and Ethiopia -- whose meager resources are being squandered in unnecessary acquisition of arms - into another war.