Ankara, July 11, 2025 — Mediation talks hosted by Türkiye between Somalia and Ethiopia have stalled, diplomats from both countries said, amid deepening tensions over Ethiopia's contentious port access agreement with Somaliland.
Türkiye had been brokering the negotiations since February 2024 in an effort to ease the dispute sparked by a deal signed on January 1, 2024, granting Ethiopia access to a 20-kilometre stretch of coastline in Somaliland - in exchange for a possible path to recognition for the breakaway region.
Somalia denounced the agreement as a "violation of its sovereignty" and launched a vigorous diplomatic campaign to oppose it.
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Three rounds of talks were held in Ankara, culminating in an agreement on December 11, 2024, in which both sides committed to respecting Somalia's territorial integrity and commencing technical negotiations. However, expert-level meetings held from February 2-4, 2025, collapsed without progress, and no further meetings have been scheduled since April.
On July 3, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reiterated his government's stance, saying access to the sea was "a matter tied to economic development" -- remarks echoing his January 2024 statements that drew sharp rebuke from Mogadishu.
Somalia again condemned the Ethiopia-Somaliland pact, calling it a "land grab" and urging the United Nations to intervene.
Diplomats familiar with the mediation process told AFP the talks broke down due to irreconcilable differences over the sequencing of port access and recognition for Somaliland. Neither side has shown a clear willingness to return to the negotiating table.
The impasse has drawn in regional powers. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud earlier this week, pledging increased military support to safeguard Red Sea security -- a move widely viewed as countering Ethiopia's maritime ambitions.
