ANKARA (SD) – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held separate meetings with the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed Ali, making strong efforts to facilitate dialogue between the two parties.

This meeting was initiated by a request from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to President Erdoğan to assist in resolving the year-long tension between Ethiopia and Somalia.

The meeting will begin with separate discussions where the leaders of the two countries will meet individually with President Erdoğan, who will then pave the way for a rapprochement that could lead to a direct meeting and agreement.

According to the information we have received, Abiy Ahmed is showing a willingness to fully abandon his controversial agreement with Somaliland.

On his part, President Hassan Sheikh is reportedly standing firm on his government’s previous stance that Ethiopia must fully retract the MOU agreement it made with Somaliland.

Diplomatic experts believe that the factors accelerating the Ankara meeting include the decision by the Somali government that Ethiopian troops should withdraw from Somalia following the exit of ATMIS at the end of this year and not be part of the new African Union mission in Somalia.