Turkey and Egypt on Monday jointly expressed their support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Somalia. Somalia accuses Ethiopia of trying to undermine its sovereignty by annexing Somali territories.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan yesterday held a joint press briefing with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.
Hakan said Turkey reiterates its position that Somalia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty must be respected. Badr went a step ahead and categorically rejected Ethiopia-Somaliland Memorandum of Understanding, calling it a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.
The Turkish Foreign Minister on weekend visited Ethiopia. He met with Taye Atskeselaissie, Ethiopian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Ethiopia and Somalia have been locked into a dispute since January this year. Somalia has recalled its ambassador to Addis Ababa and expelled the Ethiopian ambassdaor.
The dispute arose when landlocked Ethiopia signed an MoU with self declared country Somaliland in January. The MoU, if implemented, would give Ethiopia access to sea through Somaliland in return for recognizing Somaliland as a country.
Somaliland is internationally recognized part of Somalia. It lacks international recognition. Somalia calls Somaliland-Ethiopia MoU an attack on its unity.
Turkey is mediating between the two parties. Last month, Somali and Ethiopian delegations led by foreign ministers held talks in Ankara. They could not reach an agreement but agreed to meet again in September.
It is being said that Turkish Foreign Minister’s recent visit to Ethiopia is linked to Ethiopia-Somalia tensions. Turkey is one of key supporters of the government of Somalia. Having a large military base in Somalia, Turkey is set to train Somalia’s naval, ground and air forces as it signed a defense treaty with Somalia in February this year. The Turkey-Somalia defense treaty, signed after Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU, is seen as an attempt by Somalia to thwart the implementation of Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU.
Turkey is one of key trading partners for Ethiopia. It seems that Turkey is struggling to create a balance between its support for Somalia and its trade relations with Ethiopia.
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