Regional and international parties are highly anticipating a visit declared by Turkish officials to Cairo with the aim of continuing efforts to reach an understanding to mend the rift between their countries.
As the visit draws near, differences continue to emerge from within the Muslim Brotherhood, which is labeled as terrorist by Egypt.
General Guide of the Brotherhood, Ibrahim Munir, sparked outrage when he revealed that several of the group’s leaders met with head of the Turkish opposition Felicity Party. The development led to various disputes within the group, which has been compounded by the recent Egyptian-Turkish rapprochement.
In his statement, Munir said that some Brotherhood leaders and “other forces” sought a meeting with some Turkish civil groups to address the situation of Egyptian “refugees” in Turkey.
He expressed the Brotherhood’s full respect to the laws and regulations in Turkey, thanking Ankara for its hosting of the “refugees”.
His reference to Egyptian expatriates as “refugees” did not go unnoticed.
The Muslim Brotherhood youth branch was outraged by Munir’s statement, dismissing his “thanks and gratitude” as “shame”. It distanced itself from the statement, saying Munir was yielding to the authorities – an approach he has adopted since the Brotherhood was ousted from power in Egypt in 2013.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced in April that a delegation from his country would visit Egypt in early May.
Cairo has not confirmed or denied the visit, but Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Ankara’s efforts to mend ties were “appreciated”.
Tarek Fahmy, political science professor at Cairo University, told Asharq Al-Awsat that should Cairo and Ankara continue their rapprochement the upcoming visit will have a “real and major” impact on the region.
