Two senior Somali officials claim President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia declined a proposal to meet with Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed in Beijing, China.
The Special Envoy of the African Union, Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president of Nigeria, and leaders of Djibouti and Mauritania also reportedly tried to mediate the talks, though they were unsuccessful.
The federal government of Somalia had previously demanded that Addis Ababa renounce the contentious Memorandum of Understanding with the breakaway region of Somaliland before engaging in direct talks with Ethiopia.