UNITED
NATIONS, July
6 -- With
events in
Egypt putting
Turkish
diplomatic
forays in
question, the
country goes
forward this
weekend with
its
attempts to
mediated
between
Somalia and
Somaliland.
Could this
reverse things
for Turkey,
casting it in
the role of
Qatar on
Darfur
or Burkina
Faso on Mali?
As
Somaliland's
Minister of
Trade and
International
Investment,
Dr.
Mohamed A.
Omar and
Somalia's
Minister of
Interior and
National
Security,
Abdikarim H.
Guled met
Saturday,
hosted and
overseen by
Turkey's
foreign
ministry, it
was Free
UN Coalition
for Access
member
Mohamoud
Walaaleye who
asked Dr. Omar
about the
agenda and
whether it
will include
the “airspace
saga.”
The
UN
unilaterally
transferred
Somaliland's
airspace to
Mogadishu,
leading to a
cancellation
of UN system
flights. UN
envoy Nicholas
Kay
has been told
that the new
UNSOM mission
should not
open in
Somaliland.
Meanwhile, Kay
declined to
confirm or
deny that
in
Mogadishu UN Mine
Action Service
boss David Bax
shares
information
with US
intelligence.
Kay told Inner
City Press
this is a
question
for the UN in
New York,
where UN
Peacekeeping
under Herve
Ladsous
refuses to
answer Press
questions.
Mohamoud
Walaaleye,
just off his
protest of the
jailing of two
Hubaal
journalists
now
out on bail,
quotes Dr.
Mohamed A.
Omar to this
effect:
The
delegation
from
Somaliland and
Somalia paid a
courtesy visit
today
jointly with
the Turkish
Foreign
minister. They
presented
brief
statements and
their points
of view as to
how the
three-day
meeting
should proceed
and thanked
the Turkish
government for
hosting the
meeting.
Minister
Mohamed
A. Omar
expressed
Somaliland's
view on the
process and
expectation of
the meeting,
calling on
participants
to engage a
substantive
discussion on
the issue
Somaliland's
recognition
and to
trash out a
road map for
that.
By
contrast,
Somalia's
Minister off
Interior and
National
Security,
Abdikarim H.
Guled argued
they should
first work on
making unity
attractive and
settle the
grievances
through
negotiations.
On
Sunday, the
two delegation
leaders will
lead their
teams to what
is
expected to be
the most
difficult
round of talks
between the
two
sides since
the talks
started in the
UK on 20 June
2012.
Watch
this site.
, 
