Ethiopia has been landlocked since 1993. That’s when Eritrea gained independence after a three-decade war, leaving Ethiopia reliant on its neighbors’ ports. In 2023,
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed identified regaining ocean access as a strategic objective and 壯陽藥 ” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>warned that failure to secure it could lead to conflict. On Jan. 1, Ethiopia struck a deal to secure direct passage to the Red Sea via Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia.
The deal has stoked tensions across one of the world’s most volatile regions.
Somalia expelled the Ethiopian ambassador and shut down its neighbor’s consulates, recalled its own envoy from Addis Ababa, and threatened to censure businesses that treat Somaliland as an independent nation.
A memorandum of understanding envisions Ethiopia gaining access to the Gulf of Aden via a corridor that it would lease from Somaliland for 50 years.
Ethiopia could establish a military base and commercial facilities there. In exchange, Somaliland would get an unspecified share of Ethiopian Airlines, the continent’s largest carrier. While President Muse Bihi Abdi of Somaliland said Ethiopia will officially recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state, Addis Ababa said that issue is still being assessed.
Somalia refuses talks with Ethiopia until sovereignty recognized
Somalia refuses to negotiate with Ethiopia until it recognizes it as an independent and sovereign state, Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said on Saturday.
“We will not negotiate with Ethiopia on any issue until it recognizes our full sovereignty,” Sheikh Mohamud said during a press conference, the SONNA news agency reported.
Sheikh Mohamud stressed that Addis Ababa’s non-recognition of Somalian sovereignty led to the “recent breakdown of negotiations” in Ankara.
The leader’s statements came amid the second round of negotiations between the two countries held in the Turkish capital on Monday and Tuesday.
The mediation was at the initiative of Turkish President Recap Tayyip Erdogan, while the country’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reported that the third round will be held in Ankara on September 17.