Erdoğan’s Remarks on Ankara Agreement Stir Controversy Over Somalia’s Sovereignty

[Deeq A.]

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “You cannot reach the sea from Ethiopia. It is really frustrating for such a vast land to be landlocked.”

Mogadishu (PP News Desk) — In a recent briefing for the media about the Ankara Somalia-Ethiopia Agreememt,  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks have sparked controversy. Critics argue that his language suggested that Ethiopia exerted  undue influence over Somalia, and that he overlooked Somalia’s sovereignty, implying a subordinate relationship between Somalia and Türkiye. “When Ethiopia exerted pressure on Somalia, we also stood by Somalia. We made investments there” Erdoğa said.

The Ankara Declaration, facilitated by Türkiye, aims to resolve tensions over the maritime MoU, particularly regarding Ethiopia’s desire for access to the Red Sea. The agreement includes provisions for Ethiopia to gain commercial access to Somali ports based on a lease.

President Erdoğan’s speech has been scrutinised for certain expressions that some interpret as diminishing Somalia’s sovereignty . His use of phrases implying that Ethiopia had “put pressure” on Somalia has led to perceptions that Ethiopia is preying upon Somalia.  Erdoğan’s failure to explicitly affirm Somalia’s sovereignty and the primacy of the International Law has been interpreted by some as viewing Somalia as a vassal state of Türkiye.

This perspective is further complicated by the Somali Federal Government’s reversal of an earlier decision to exclude Ethiopia from the new peacekeeping operations in Somalia. Critics contend that this condition undermines Somalia’s self-determination and portrays the nation as yielding to external pressures, particularly from Türkiye and Ethiopia. Erdoğan endorsed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s claim that the lack of access to the sea hinders Ethiopia’s economy. “You cannot  reach the sea from Ethiopia. It is  really frustrating for such a vast land to be landlocked” Erdoğan said. 

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A transcript of  Erdoğan’s speech in Turkish 

Gerçekten Somali ve Etiyopya arasındaki sıkıntı devam ediyordu. Tabi Etiyopya Somali’nin iki büyüklüğünde devasa biryer ama denize kapalı. Etiyopya’dan denize çıkamıyorsunuz. Bu kadar büyük devasa bir araziye sahip olan yerinhakikaten denize kapalı olması onları tabi ciddi manada rahatsız ediyor. Ve bu konuda da bugüne kadar birçok ülkedevreye girmiş ama bu işi çözememişler. Ben de gerçekten. Etiyopya Başbakanının benimle olan özel muhabbetisebebiyle kendisiyle bunları konuştuk, görüştük. Tabi Somali biz en kritik döneminde sahiplenen bir ülke olduk. Ve terörörgütlerindeyiz. Etiyopya’nın Somali’ye yüklendiği dönemde biz tabi Somali’yi de sahiplendik. Orada yatırımlarımız oldu.O yatırımlarla beraber Somali’de terör örgütlerine karşı da adımlar attık. Ve şimdi de Etiyopya’nın bu yeni ayağakalkışında dedik ki biz size her türlü, her türlü desteği vereceğiz. Ekonomide, savunmada. Elimizden gelen desteğikendilerine verdik. 7 saat süren.

Bir görüşmeden sonra sağ olsunlar. Parafları attık. İşi bitirdik. Ve ondan sonra da bizim basın toplantısı salonumuza geçiporadan dünyaya. Bunu açıkladık ve kendilerine şunu da söyledim, dedim inşallah önümüzdeki yılın ilk iki ayındaEtiyopya’yı ve Somali’yi ziyaret edeceğim ve bu attığımız adımı dünyaya duyuracağız dedik. Ve kararımızı bu şekildeaçıkladık. Sağolsunlar onlar da bu attığımız adımı kendi ülkelerine taşıdılar, taşıyorlar. Güzel bir geleceği Afrika’ya buşekilde duyurmuş olduk, tüm dünyada bu attığımız adımın, aldığımız adımın, aldığımız neticenin iftiharını bizlerle paylaştı, samimi olunca, niyet hâlis olunca her şey oluyor.”   

A translation of  Erdoğan’s speech

Indeed, the tension between Somalia and Ethiopia was going on. Of course, Ethiopia is a big place, twice the size of Somalia, but it is landlocked. You cannot  reach the sea from Ethiopia. It is really frustrating for such a vast land to be landlocked. And many countries have intervened in this matter before, but they couldn’t resolve it. I, too, had a special conversation with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, and we discussed these issues. Of course, we are  a country that supported Somalia during its most critical times. And we are involved in the fight against terrorist organisations. When Ethiopia put pressure on Somalia, we supported Somalia as well. We made investments there. Along with these investments, we also took steps against terrorist organisations in Somalia. And now, with this new phase of Ethiopia’s rise, we said we would provide them with all kinds of support, in both the economy and defense. We gave them all the support we could.

After a seven-hour meeting, thanks to them, [Somalia and Ethiopia] signed the [Ankara] agreement. We finished the job. And then they came to our press conference room and announced this to the world. And I also told them this, I said, “God willing, in the first two months of the coming year, I will visit Ethiopia and Somalia and announce this step we have taken to the world.” And we announced our decision in this way. Thank goodness, they also conveyed this step we took to their own countries. We have announced a beautiful future for Africa in this way, and they shared the pride of this step we took, this decision we made, and this result we obtained with us. When you are sincere, when your intentions are pure, everything works out.” 

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