Talks between Ethiopia and Somalia in Ankara have ended with a resolution of the dispute over Somaliland.
The talks were brokered by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and put paid to landlocked Ethiopia’s deal with the breakaway Somaliland which would have facilitated access to a Red Sea port in exchange for recognition of the Somali enclave as an independent country.
Somalia viewed the deal as an affront to its territorial sovereignty causing tension between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.
After hours of meeting in Ankara Erdogan emerged with Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed and the Somali president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud to describe the talks as historic.
Erdogan had met both leaders separately.
Ahmed and Mohamud have agreed that their two countries sovereignty was inviolable and would be respected by both sides.
The Somali leader said his country was always open to peaceful resolution of any lingering dispute with it Horn neighbour.
The Ethiopian PM assured Somalia that plans by his country to secure access to the sea was purely for economic reasons which do not pose existential threats to its neighbours.
Turkey is seen as a trusted ally by both countries with which the Erdogan government has close ties including economic and security investments.
Tension had ensued soon after Abiy reached a January 2024 deal with Somaliland for a 50-year lease of 20km of coastline for a naval base to protect a planned trade route for Ethiopia.
In return Somaliland which is not accepted internationally as an independent country, would be recognised by Ethiopia.
WN/as/APA