Cruz ties Somalia envoy confirmation to Somaliland recognition
Senator Ted Cruz says his support for the US ambassador nominee to Somalia depends on Washington formally recognising Somaliland.
Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, said on Tuesday he will condition his support for confirming Devin Kennington as US ambassador to Somalia on the State Department formally recognising Somaliland. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Cruz pressed Kennington on President Donald Trump's description of Somaliland as a totally different country from Somalia.
Kennington said conditions on the ground in Somaliland were clearly different and that the administration wanted deeper engagement with authorities in Hargeisa on security, commercial and regional matters. He did not endorse formal recognition and restated that US policy recognises Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including over Somaliland. Cruz told him that confirmation would depend on the department following the president's guidance.
No date has been set for a committee vote on Kennington's nomination. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and is not widely recognised internationally, and Somalia's federal government continues to assert sovereignty over the territory.
Why it mattersKennington's nomination now hinges on a recognition question that the State Department has not moved on, leaving the ambassador post to Somalia without a confirmation timetable.