TFG and Puntland presidents meet in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa

31 Mar 31, 2010   TF.SF

The President of Somalia's Puntland State government has held talks with the president of the T ransitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa,
The talks were held on a hotel where both officials live in Addis Ababa and focused mainly on the recent disagreement between the TFG and Puntland leaders over a harmonised accord that would allow the two administrations to work together under a federal umbrella.

TFG President Sharif [left] and Puntland President Farole in Addis Ababa, March 31, 2010

According to a Puntland government official who requested not to be named, the meeting between Puntland President Abdirahman Mohammed Farole and Somali TFG President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed was not pre-planned one.
International players who are concerned about Somalia are said to be pushing  talks between the two leaders in a bid to iron out the misunderstanding. Mr. Sharif and Mr. Farole met last November in Nairobi for their first-ever face to face discussions, but the talks ended in dispute
The Addis Ababa meetings come after representatives of both sides previously failed to agree on certain issues about the accord which its first phase was signed by TFG Prime Minister and Puntland President on August 23 last year in the Puntland city of of Galkayo.
Before landing in Ethiopian capital, Sharif’s delegation was in a tour to African countries, including Libya, Kenya and Djibouti where he was marshalling support for his fragile government’s plan to carry out offensives against the insurgents.
American officials quoted by Associated Press said Washington is mulling over possibilities of lending helping hands including the use of American drones to the TFG offensives.
Puntland, a collection of seven Somali regions that declared itself as an autonomous state in 1998, maintains to remain a part of federal Somalia