MOGADISHU, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Somalia on Tuesday condemned a visit by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia, more than a week after Israel unilaterally recognized it as an independent state.
The Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said in a statement that the visit constitutes a serious violation of Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Somalia calls upon Israel to immediately cease all actions that undermine Somalia's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and to fully respect its obligations under international law," the ministry said.
The statement was issued a few hours after Saar landed in Somaliland's Hargeisa city.
The ministry said that any official engagement without Somalia's explicit consent is illegal and carries no legal effect.
"Such actions are inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, and the established norms governing relations among sovereign states, including the principles of sovereign equality, territorial integrity, and non-interference," it said.
The ministry stressed that Hargeisa is an integral and inseparable part of its sovereign territory, calling on international partners to support its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
On Dec. 26, Israel became the first country in the world to formally recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state, prompting immediate condemnation from Somalia and the international community. ■
