CAIRO  -  Egypt’s president said on Sunday it will not allow any threat to Soma­lia, after Ethiopia said it would con­sider recognising an independence claim by Somaliland in a deal that would give it access to a seaport. The remarks by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi were the strongest yet made on the issue by Egypt, which already has frosty relations with Ethiopia, and were a sign that Cairo may get involved in a dispute that has raised fresh tensions in the vol­atile Horn of Africa.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not won recognition from any country. The port lease deal, which was agreed earlier this month but not yet final­ized, would be a boon to landlocked Ethiopia and has enraged Somalia.

“Egypt will not allow anyone to threaten Somalia or affect its secu­rity,” Sisi said, speaking at a news conference with visiting Somali Pres­ident Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

“Do not try Egypt, or try to threaten its brothers especially if they ask it to intervene,” he added.

In a Jan. 1 memorandum of under­standing, Ethiopia said it would con­sider recognizing Somaliland’s inde­pendence in return for the port access. It would lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastland around the port of Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden, for 50 years for military and commercial purposes. Ethiopia’s current main port for maritime ex­ports is in the neighbor­ing country of Djibouti.