Turkey is taking a new approach to mediating the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia, aiming to hold separate talks with each country before bringing them together for a third round of negotiations. This comes after the cancellation of a planned meeting in Ankara on Tuesday.
The conflict stems from Ethiopia's agreement to lease a stretch of coastline from Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, in exchange for recognizing its independence. This move was met with strong opposition from the Somali government, leading to a diplomatic rift.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, speaking to Anadolu news agency, revealed Turkey's intention to hold one-on-one discussions with both sides in order to better understand their positions and facilitate convergence before a future joint meeting.
"Rather than bringing the same sides here for direct talks - and they don't meet directly anyway, they meet us - we have the aim of establishing one-on-one contact to converge positions and later bring the sides together when their positions reach a totally common point," Fidan explained.
He emphasized that Turkey has learned valuable lessons from the first two rounds of talks and is optimistic about finding a solution, stating that the two sides have "converged to a certain point."
The Somalia-Ethiopia conflict stems from Addis Ababa's agreement to lease a stretch of coastline from Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, allegedly in exchange for recognizing its independence. This move was met with strong opposition from the Somali government, leading to a diplomatic rift.