Egypt could restore diplomatic ties with Turkey this year if outstanding issues are overcome, said Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Madbouly said that a vital issue for Egypt remains Turkey's involvement in Libya, where no other countries should be physically interfering or try to influence decision-making.
"We would like to leave Libyans to decide their future."
Asked about the Egyptian-Turkish dialogue, Madbouly said that "there's been a lot of movement that has taken place in the last few months," but there also remain some outstanding issues.
Earlier, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Cairo is "eager to find a resolution" and a formula for restoring normal relations with Ankara, however, "more work needs to be done" to reach such a step.
Last week, Egypt and Turkey held their second round of "exploratory" talks in Ankara.
Both agreed to continue their consultations, confirming their desire to progress in areas under discussion and the need to take further steps to facilitate the normalization of ties.
According to an Egyptian statement, the two delegations discussed bilateral issues and several regional topics, such as the situation in Libya, Syria, Palestine, and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The first round of consultations was held in May in Cairo. Representatives of the two countries said that the discussions were frank and that the two sides addressed bilateral and regional issues.
During the past months, Turkey took steps that Cairo described as "positive," after Ankara ordered Istanbul-based channels affiliated with the Brotherhood to stop airing criticism and incitement against Egyptian authorities.
Speaking to Bloomberg also, Shoukry said that at this stage, Cairo still has to evaluate the outcome of this second round of discussions and the context of the bilateral relations.
Once Egypt is "satisfied" that outstanding issues have been resolved, the door will be open for further progress, noted Shoukry.
Turkey had recently hinted at the possible exchange of ambassadors with Egypt after reducing their diplomatic representation to the level of charge d'affaires in 2013.
Relations between Ankara and Cairo deteriorated over the Turkish position on the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt and its support for the group that the Egyptian authorities have designated a terrorist organization.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his country was ready to negotiate with Egypt to demarcate the maritime borders and determine the areas of validity in the eastern Mediterranean if Cairo requests.
