Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

After Mending Ties with Russia and Israel, Turkey to Bury Hatchet with Egypt | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
Select Page
Media ID: 55353818
Caption:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reuters


Istanbul-Turkey has implicitly announced its readiness to mend fences with Egypt, in the wake of normalizing of relations with Russia and Israel.

Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he was “negotiating” reconciliation with his Egyptian counterpart Samih Shukri during “international forums,” adding that bilateral meetings could be witnessed in the next phase.

The Turkish foreign affairs minister said he was “personally ready” to hold negotiations with Egyptian authorities.

Cavusoglu’s remarks on Sunday coincided with statements made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding new initiatives to resolve the Syrian crisis.

Addressing Syrian refugees at an Iftar banquet in the southeastern Kilis province, Erdogan said that foreign initiatives, which were recently launched by Turkey, were aimed at paving the way to a solution to the Syrian crisis.

He added that Turkey had other initiatives in this regard, but did not elaborate on the matter.
Last week, Turkey buried the hatchet with Russia, as Erdogan sent an apology letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin for shooting down a Russian SU-24 warplane which it said had strayed into the country’s airspace near Syria.

The country also announced an agreement to restore full diplomatic relations with Israel six years after nine of its citizens were killed by Israeli commandos while on board an aid ship trying to reach Gaza.