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Israel’s recognition of Somaliland benefits no one: Turkish president

February 17, 2026 at 6:46 pm

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a speech in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on February 17, 2026. [Utku Uçrak – Anadolu Agency]

Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday touched on Israel’s decision to recognize Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state and become the only country to do so, stressing that the decision benefits neither Somalia nor the region, Anadolu reports.

“I would like to reiterate that Israel’s recognition of Somaliland would benefit neither Somaliland nor the Horn of Africa,” Erdogan said in a joint presser with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa.

Ankara believes that the countries of the region should develop solutions to the region’s problems, said Erdogan, urging the Horn of Africa not to be turned into “an arena of struggle for foreign powers.”

Stressing the bilateral relations between Turkiye and Ethiopia, Erdogan said that it is a “source of pride” that more than 200 Turkish companies, with investments amounting to $2.5 billion, are supporting the employment of approximately 20,000 people in Ethiopia.

READ: African Union urges Israel to withdraw recognition of Somaliland