Ankara (AFP) – Somalia and Ethiopia have reached a deal to end a nearly year-old bitter dispute following hours of Turkish-brokered talks in Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
Hailing it as a "historic agreement", Erdogan said he hoped the deal would be "the first step towards a new beginning based on peace and cooperation between Somalia and Ethiopia".
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud flew into Ankara earlier on Wednesday for the latest round of talks following two earlier rounds that made little progress.
The two neighbours have been at loggerheads since landlocked Ethiopia struck a deal in January with Somalia's breakaway region Somaliland to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base in exchange for recognition, although this was never confirmed by Addis Ababa.
The move sparked a fierce diplomatic and military row between Ethiopia and Somalia, which branded the deal a violation of its sovereignty, setting international alarm bells ringing over the risk of renewed conflict in the volatile Horn of Africa region.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Erdogan said he believed Wednesday's agreement, which came after talks that reportedly lasted eight hours, would eventually bring about a way to ensure landlocked Ethiopia's access to the sea.
"I believe with the meeting we had today, especially with Ethiopia's demands to access the sea, my brother Sheikh Mohamud will give the necessary support for accessing the sea," he said.
'Constructive talks'
According to the text of the agreement released by Turkey, the parties agreed "to leave behind differences of opinion and contentious issues, and resolutely move forward in cooperation towards common prosperity".
They agreed to work closely together on commercial arrangements and bilateral agreements that would ensure Ethiopia's "reliable, safe and sustainable access" to the sea "under the sovereign authority of the Federal Republic of Somalia".
To that end, they would start technical talks no later than the end of February which would be completed "within four months", with any differences to be dealt with "though dialogue, where necessary with Turkey's support".
Speaking alongside Erdogan, his remarks translated into Turkish, Ethiopia's Abiy said: "We have addressed the misunderstandings that have occurred over the past year.
"Ethiopia's desire for secure access to the sea is a peaceful venture and will benefit our neighbours, it is a venture that must be seen in the spirit of cooperation, not suspicion."
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He said the "constructive talks" would allow the two nations "to enter the New Year in a spirit of cooperation, friendship and the willingness to work together instead of against each other".
The Somali leader, whose remarks were also translated, said the agreement had "put a halt to their differences" and that his nation was "ready to work with the Ethiopian leadership and the Ethiopian people".
The row had sent shivers through the Horn of Africa, drawing in Ethiopia's long-standing rival Egypt, and Eritrea.
Somalia expelled Ethiopia's ambassador in April and said Ethiopian troops would be excluded from a new African Union peacekeeping force against Islamist Al-Shabaab insurgents that is due to be deployed on 1 January.
Turkey has been mediating between the two sides since July, leading discussions aimed at resolving their differences, but the two previous rounds of talks in Ankara had failed to produce any tangible progress.
