Ethiopia is mulling abandoning its plan to recognize Somaliland as a sovereign nation as part of a deal it signed with the self-proclaimed republic in January because of international pressure, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
Somaliland and Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding in Addis Ababa on January 1 that would allow Addis Ababa to access a strip of Somaliland’s coast for 50 years to build a naval base.
In return, Ethiopia said it would become the first country to recognize Somaliland’s sovereignty.
The agreement sparked an angry reaction from Somalia, which called Ethiopia an “enemy” and vowed to defend its territory by all means, including by war.
Bloomberg said on Friday that Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed “expressed his willingness to step back from the deal’s most controversial elements” during a recent meeting with Kenya’s president William Ruto in Nairobi.
The news outlet cited people familiar with the discussions between the two leaders.
“Ethiopian officials privately told foreign officials that the country may be willing to drop its recognition of Somaliland, according to five foreign officials who were briefed on Addis Ababa’s stance. Ruto also raised the matter in a meeting with Somali president Hassan Sheikh, who was visiting Kenya at the same time as Abiy,” it said.
Ruto said in January that his government was trying to “persuade Ethiopia” to consider other options beyond its demand for a port, though it’s unclear what those options are, Bloomberg reported.
Spokespeople for the governments of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia as well as Somaliland have not yet commented on the report.
The UN and several countries have called on Ethiopia and Somalia to de-escalate tensions over the Somaliland deal, which Mogadishu has condemned as “an aggression”.
Somaliland declared unilateral independence from the rest of Somalia in 1991 but is not recognised by members of the United Nations and the African Union as an independent state.
The International Crisis Group said this week that international reactions were largely favouring Somalia’s argument that the Somaliland-Ethiopia pact runs counter to principles of preserving territorial integrity, sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.
