Friday August 21, 2026
Mogadishu (HOL) — Somali government has reaffirmed that its official position on the Cyprus issue remains unchanged, following a message by the Speaker of the House of the People, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur, thanking the speaker of the parliament of the Northern Cyprus for congratulating him on his election.
The Speaker’s message was initially published on the House of the People’s social media account but was later removed. It remains on Nur’s personal X account.
“I extend my sincere thanks to H.E. Dr. Ziya Öztürkler, Speaker of the Assembly of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, for his kind congratulations on my election as Speaker of the House of the People of the Federal Parliament of Somalia,” Nur wrote.
The Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs subsequently issued a statement clarifying that the message did not represent any change in Somalia’s foreign policy.
“The Federal Republic of Somalia wishes to clarify, following recent references in public discussion, that its position on the Cyprus issue remains unchanged and continues to be guided by the Charter of the United Nations and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations Security Council,” the ministry said.
Somalia reaffirmed its respect for the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, citing UN Security Council resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984).
The ministry said the speaker’s personal communication “does not reflect, and shall not be interpreted as, any change” in Somalia’s foreign policy.
It also stressed that the message did not constitute recognition of a separate entity in Northern Cyprus and that the federal government had taken no decision to alter its established position.
Somalia said it continues to support a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the Cyprus dispute under UN auspices and in accordance with international law and relevant Security Council resolutions.
The clarification comes as Somalia maintains diplomatic relations with Turkey, which strongly supports the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, while the international community broadly recognizes the Republic of Cyprus as the island’s sovereign state.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is a self-declared state covering the northern third of the island of Cyprus. It formed in 1983, nearly a decade after a 1974 Turkish military intervention that split the island. Turkey is the only nation that recognizes it as an independent country.