ANKARA, Sept 19 (Askume) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on the 19th that Turkey plans to hold separate meetings with Somalia and Ethiopia to resolve disputes arising from Ethiopia’s agreement to lease a part of Somaliland’s coastline.
Turkey has so far hosted two rounds of meetings between the East African neighbours in an effort to improve relations . A third round of talks scheduled for Tuesday in Ankara was cancelled.
Relations between the two countries worsened further in January when Ethiopia agreed to lease 20 kilometers (12 miles) of coastline from Somaliland in exchange for recognition of its independence. Mogadishu called the deal illegal and retaliated by expelling the Ethiopian ambassador and threatening to expel thousands of Ethiopian troops deployed in the country to help fight Islamist insurgents.
In an interview with the state-run Anadolu news agency, Fidan said Turkey was continuing its ministerial and head-of-state-level contacts with Somalia and Ethiopia, adding that he hoped to find a solution because both sides “have agreed on the same page” as part of the Ankara talks.
“Our goal is not to have the same parties come here directly to negotiate – they wouldn’t meet directly anyway, but would meet with us – our goal is to establish one-on-one contact to unite on positions, and then when both sides agree on a timeline to bring the two sides together.”
