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Turkey, Egypt discuss bilateral ties after years of tensions

Rahshan Saglam
Press TV, Istanbul

Turkey has sent a delegation headed by its deputy foreign minister to Egypt. The delegation held talks with Egyptian officials, aimed at finding new ways to normalize relations. The two countries have been at loggerheads since a military coup in Egypt toppled Mohamed Morsi about a decade ago. 

The delegation was chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal. The ministry said the exploratory talks would focus on restoring relations between the two countries.

Both Ankara and Cairo have shown signs of a possible reconciliation recently. Analysts believe that the main reasons behind this step are the tensions in Eastern Mediterranean as they can both benefit if a deal is sealed between the two.

The ties between Ankara and Cairo were strained after the military coup that toppled Morsi, the first democratically elected Egyptian president, in mid-2013. Ankara back then directly voiced its criticism of current President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his supporters for not respecting democracy, and summoned its ambassador to Egypt.

The Egyptian government warned Ankara against intervening in the country’s internal affairs. However, Turkey welcomed top Muslim brotherhood leaders in Turkey who gathered their efforts and established media outlets there criticizing the Egyptian regime.

The Eight-year long tensions between the two sides, as observers say, may not be resolved in one or two days. But, they seem to be taking some long stride in the right direction.


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