Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced the start of a new path with Egypt and cooperation that begins with ministers and ends with the normalization of full relations.
A Turkish analyst who spoke to “Sky News Arabia” hopes that these steps will result in removing all differences, and that the Turkish government will respond to Cairo’s demands to stop its support for the terrorist Brotherhood.
Shukri’s visit
On Sunday morning, a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Minister Sameh Shoukry, announced that he would go Monday morning to both Syria and Turkey, on a visit “in order to convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries and their peoples, following the February 6 earthquake, which left heavy losses.”
The statement indicated that “the foreign minister is expected to affirm, in his meetings with both Syria and Turkey, Egypt’s permanent readiness to provide aid and assistance to those affected in the affected areas of the two countries, and that Egypt, the government and people, cannot be late for a day in supporting its brothers.”
important visit
Turkish political analyst, Javad Gok, describes the Egyptian minister’s visit as “very important, not only for Egypt and Turkey, but for the entire region,” after 10 years of deadlock.
Gok notes that Shoukry’s visit comes after the phone call he had with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, which is “the first tangible step in the framework of restoring relations between the two countries,” calling for the return of the ambassadors to Cairo and Ankara “because it is very important.”
After agreeing to restore relations between the two countries, the Egyptian side will put forward requests regarding extremist groups, including the Brotherhood, and the Turkish government must take the necessary steps to prevent them from sabotaging relations between the two sides again, according to the Turkish analyst.
Regarding the Turkish government’s position on the visit, he said it was “very happy” with it, especially in these difficult times for the Turkish people, “and they will appreciate Egypt’s efforts to help those affected by the earthquake and its sending of aid.”
Egyptian aid
Last Thursday, Egypt sent two relief aid planes to Turkey in solidarity with those affected by the earthquake, and as a contribution to mitigating its effects.
The two planes come the day after the docking of the Egyptian Navy ship “Halayeb” in the international port of Mersin, southern Turkey, loaded with 650 tons of humanitarian aid.
After the earthquake, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi made a phone call to Erdogan, during which he expressed condolences and solidarity over the disaster.
On February 8, the Egyptian army announced the flight of 5 military transport planes loaded with large quantities of medicines and medical supplies to Syria and Turkey.
previous talks
Turkey is seeking to restore relations with Egypt, which have witnessed sharp differences since the Egyptian June 30 revolution in 2013, regarding Egyptian and regional issues, most notably Egypt’s anger at Turkish support for the terrorist Brotherhood in Egypt, and terrorist groups and militias in Libya.
In the last two years, the two countries held two rounds of exploratory talks that began in 2021, headed by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Sedat Onal and his Egyptian counterpart Hamdi Loza. At the end of the second round, which was held in Ankara last September, the two sides agreed to continue consultations, and affirmed their desire to make progress on issues. Discussed, and the normalization of relations between them.
The highest level of communication before the earthquake was a handshake between Sisi and Erdogan during their attendance at the opening of the FIFA World Cup, which was held in Qatar last November.