ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump said Friday he did not intend to immediately follow Israel in recognizing Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland as an independent country.

“Everything is under study ... We’ll study it. I study a lot of things and always make great decisions and they turn out to be correct,” Trump told the New York Post in a phone interview.

“Does anyone know what Somaliland is, really?” he asked.

On Somaliland’s proposal to provide the US with access to a port on the strategically significant Gulf of Aden, Trump responded dismissively, saying: “Big deal.”

Israel on Friday became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland’s separation from Somalia, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would convey the development to Trump during a planned meeting scheduled for Monday.

Speaking during a video call with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi to mark the diplomatic move, Netanyahu said he would inform Trump of Somaliland’s interest in joining the Abraham Accords.

Trump underlined that he was not swayed by the proposal and that the upcoming talks with Netanyahu would prioritize issues related to the Gaza Strip, particularly the ceasefire he brokered in October and ongoing reconstruction efforts under a UN-approved framework.