Ethiopia defended on Wednesday its deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland, insisting that it violated no laws.
This comes after Somalia accused Ethiopia of a blatant attack on its sovereignty regarding the agreement signed in Addis Ababa on Monday.
The memorandum of understanding grants Ethiopia access to commercial maritime services and a military base, with Somaliland leasing 20 kilometers of coastline for 50 years. The pact has sparked concerns about the stability of the Horn of Africa region.
While Ethiopia argued that other countries had previously made deals with Somaliland, the Arab League and Egypt supported Somalia's stance.
The East African regional grouping IGAD expressed deep concern, and the European Union emphasised the need to respect Somalia's sovereignty.
In response, Mogadishu vowed to defend its territory through legal means and called for urgent meetings of the UN Security Council and the African Union to address what it termed Ethiopia's "aggression."
The deal was signed shortly after Somalia and Somaliland agreed to resume dialogue after decades of stalemate, and it follows Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's previous statements about asserting the country's right to access the Red Sea.
