Turkey Says it Warned Muslim Brotherhood Against Making Anti-Egypt Statements

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks in Brussels, Belgium, January 21, 2021. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks in Brussels, Belgium, January 21, 2021. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS
TT

Turkey Says it Warned Muslim Brotherhood Against Making Anti-Egypt Statements

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks in Brussels, Belgium, January 21, 2021. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks in Brussels, Belgium, January 21, 2021. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country has warned against making anti-Egypt statements, in the first official statement on measures taken by Ankara regarding Muslim Brotherhood leaders and institutions following the start of a process to normalize relations with Cairo.

Cavusoglu acknowledged publicly for the first time that his country had issued decisive warnings to some critics to the Egyptian authorities, especially those who have made radical speeches and statements against Cairo.

“I see some comments here and there on this subject, and rumors claiming that Turkey was selling the Egyptian opposition… There are some opponents to whom we addressed the necessary warnings, especially those who exaggerate the extremist rhetoric against Egypt,” the Turkish foreign minister said in a television interview on Tuesday evening regarding restrictions imposed on the Brotherhood’s TV channels that broadcast from Istanbul.

Ankara last month asked Egyptian opposition TV channels operating in Turkey to restrain their criticism of Egypt.

However, Cavusoglu said his country remained opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood being declared “terrorists” by Egypt, stressing that Turkey viewed it as a political movement.

The minister revealed ongoing steps to normalize relations with Egypt, saying a meeting would be held at the level of the foreign ministers’ deputies in the first week of May in Cairo, following which he will meet with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, to discuss the appointment of ambassadors and means to further upgrade ties in the future.

Asked about the change in Turkey’s foreign policy, the minister said: “The world is changing at a rapid pace, so is foreign policy.... We must be entrepreneurs, and we must find solutions to disputes. Turkey should be the mediator. Our mediation successes are due to an honest and balanced approach.”



Death Toll in Lebanon Crosses 3,000 in 13-Month Israel-Hezbollah War, Health Ministry Says

A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
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Death Toll in Lebanon Crosses 3,000 in 13-Month Israel-Hezbollah War, Health Ministry Says

A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)
A building destroyed during an Israeli airstrike southern Lebanese town of Ghazieh, 03 November 2024. (EPA)

More than 3,000 people have been killed in Lebanon during 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's Health Ministry said Monday. At least 13,492 have been injured.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel the day after Hamas’ surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 ignited the war in Gaza. Hezbollah and Hamas are both allied with Iran.

The conflict dramatically escalated on Sept. 23 with intense Israeli airstrikes on south and east Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, leaving hundreds dead and leading to the displacement of nearly 1.2 million people.

Israel began a ground invasion of south Lebanon on Oct. 1, causing wide destruction in border villages but making little advances on the ground inside Lebanon.

In Israel, 72 people have been killed from Hezbollah attacks, including 30 soldiers.