MOGADISHU (Somaliguardian) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday hosted separate meetings with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Ankara, setting the stage for their first in-person encounter since tensions erupted earlier this year over Somaliland’s controversial lease of land along the Red Sea to Ethiopia.
The meetings followed a day after the two leaders arrived in Turkey at Erdogan’s invitation, with the Turkish president now seeking to spearhead a third round of negotiations between the two nations, months after the previous talks, attended by foreign ministers, faltered and ultimately collapsed without achieving any progress.
At the time, Somalia demanded Ethiopia withdraw from its memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, seeking access to Red Sea land for a naval base, as it considers Somaliland—which declared independence in 1991—to be part of its territory, while Ethiopia steadfastly rejected the request, insisting on honoring its agreement, thus stymieing any potential resolution at the negotiating table.
While it remains unclear what impact the meeting between Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Abiy Ahmed will have, given nearly a year of Somalia’s resistance to direct talks with Ethiopia’s leader, Yusuf Garad, a member of the Somali president’s delegation in Turkey, emphasized that it is too soon to gauge the outcome, expressing hope that the discussions will ultimately prove fruitful for Somalia’s position.
