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full screen Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held talks between the foreign ministers from Somalia and Ethiopia. Archive image. Photo: Mikhail Metzel/AP/TT
Somalia and Ethiopia have met in Turkey in an attempt to reduce diplomatic tensions that have arisen between the countries.
The deteriorating relationship is rooted in an agreement Ethiopia reached with the unilaterally proclaimed state of Somaliland on January 1 – an agreement Somalia condemns as an infringement on the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The agreement would give Ethiopia access to the sea through Somaliland and in return Ethiopia would recognize Somaliland as an independent country.
Ethiopia’s and Somalia’s foreign ministers had a “separately frank, cordial and forward-looking exchange” about the differences, according to Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who facilitated the talks.
He adds that the parties “reiterated their commitment to a peaceful resolution of the differences of opinion”.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but has not been recognized by the international community.