US 'welcomes' Turkiye-backed Ethiopia-Somalia deal on sea access

Washington: The United States on Thursday said it welcomed the accord reached by Somalia and Ethiopia to end regional tensions, sparked by Addis Ababa...

Washington: The United States on Thursday said it welcomed the accord reached by Somalia and Ethiopia to end regional tensions, sparked by Addis Ababa's push for maritime access.

The two countries had been at loggerheads since landlocked Ethiopia struck a deal in January with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base.

But on Wednesday, regional power Turkiye, which had brokered talks between Somalia and Ethiopia, announced the two sides had reached a deal that would ensure "reliable, safe and sustainable access" to the sea for Ethiopia, "under the sovereign authority of the Federal Republic of Somalia."

"The United States welcomes the December 11 Declaration between the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia reaffirming each country's sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity," top US diplomat Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Blinken added the United States was looking forward to the "technical negotiations" that would spell out Ethiopia's sea access "while respecting Somalia's territorial integrity."