According to information obtained from diplomatic sources, EthiopiaPrime Minister Brother Ahmed‘s request for support from Turkey regarding the tension between Ethiopia and Somalia President Recep Tayyip ErdoganAfter writing a letter to Turkey, which has gained the trust of both countries, has started its mediation activities and this process is ongoing. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was received by Prime Minister Ahmed during his visit to Ethiopia and then contacts were made with the Somali side at the highest level. As a result of these meetings, it was decided that the second round of negotiations would be held in Ankara on August 12 instead of September 2.
Sources state that as part of this diplomatic process, representatives of the two countries were hosted in Ankara and efforts to reach a compromise are ongoing, taking into account the needs, concerns and approaches of Somalia and Ethiopia.
Turkey’s Mediation Activities
Following the receipt of Prime Minister Ahmed’s letter, Turkey, having gained the trust of both parties, accelerated its mediation efforts in line with President Erdoğan’s instructions. In this context, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held various meetings with officials from Ethiopia and Somalia and hosted the foreign ministers of the two countries in Ankara on July 1.
Months later, the foreign ministers of the two countries met under the hosting of Minister Fidan, and as a result of the meeting, the parties announced their intention to resolve their issues “peacefully” in a joint statement and committed to meeting again in Ankara on September 2. Turkey’s efforts to open a sustainable dialogue channel between the parties in order to contribute to the resolution of the crisis against the increasing tension in the region have been appreciated by the international community. In addition, Turkey has maintained contacts with the countries in the region since July 1 and has managed to gain the support of these countries in the process.
Ethiopia-Somalia Conflict
Ethiopia is the country with the largest population in the world without access to the sea. With Eritrea’s de facto secession from Ethiopia in 1991 and its legal independence in 1993, Ethiopia lost access to the sea. Ethiopia, which has kept the issue of access to the Red Sea on the agenda for economic reasons, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland on January 1. This Memorandum of Understanding was met with great reactions from the Somali government and the international community because it included a promise to recognize Somaliland.
Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi stated that with the completion of this agreement, Ethiopia would recognize them as “independent”. The Somali government, on the other hand, withdrew its ambassador from Ethiopia after Ethiopia signed a maritime access agreement with Somaliland. The Arab League and the African Union rejected and condemned the agreement signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland, which included “the construction of military bases and the development of ports in the Red Sea”.
The Foreign Ministers of Ethiopia and Somalia met in Nairobi on March 9-10 to resolve the crisis between the two countries, but no results were achieved from these indirect negotiations.
