President Said Abdullahi Deni of Puntland State has reiterated that his government would reject the outcomes of the talks between the Federal Government of Somalia and Somaliland.
Currently, President Musa Bihi Abdi of Somaliland and President Mohamed Farmaajo of Somalia are in Djibouti to resume the long-stalled talks between their two nations.
Bihi and Farmaajo are meeting at the invitation of Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and US Ambassador to Somalia Donald Yamamoto.
The meeting kicked off yesterday to a false start after Bihi insisted that the talks could only proceed if Somalia was ready to recognize Somaliland as a separate state.
Today, while addressing the opening session of Puntland Parliament, President Deni said, “We will not support the outcome of talks that do not involve the government of Puntland.”
Deni said that the outcome of the talks is likely to have an effect in Puntland too, hence the need for involving them in the discussion to chart a common way forward for the whole region.