Turkey plans to hold separate meetings with Somalia and Ethiopia as part of its efforts to mediate a dispute over Ethiopia’s agreement to lease a stretch of Somaliland’s coastline, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday.
Turkey has already hosted two rounds of talks between the neighboring countries to help repair relations, but a third round in Ankara was canceled.
Tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia escalated in January after Ethiopia agreed to lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland in exchange for recognizing its independence, a deal Somalia deemed illegal.
In response, Mogadishu expelled the Ethiopian ambassador and threatened to remove Ethiopian troops aiding in the fight against Islamist insurgents.
Fidan, speaking to Anadolu news agency, said Turkey continues to engage with both countries at ministerial and leadership levels and remains optimistic, noting the parties had “converged to a certain point” in the Ankara talks.
Fidan explained that instead of organizing direct talks between the two sides, which haven’t happened yet, Turkey aims to establish one-on-one discussions to align their positions.
“They don’t meet directly anyway, they meet us,” he said. Once their positions reach full alignment, they will then be brought together. He also noted that there were “lessons” learned from the first two rounds of discussions.
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