Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that talks with Egypt would continue until the normalization of relations between the two countries.
In remarks on Friday, Erdogan said Turkey was seeking to restore “unity of historical roots with the people of Egypt,” emphasizing a new phase of relations.
Asked to comment about the recent talks which were hosted by Cairo at the level of deputy foreign ministers, the Turkish president said: “We seek to restore this unity of historical roots with the people of Egypt and to maintain it again as brotherly friends and not as brothers-enemies.”
He continued: “Seeing the Egyptian people compelled to side with the Greek people against Turkey is something that saddens Ankara.”
Former Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Ambassador Ali Al-Hefni, said that the Turkish president was hinging on the first round of talks between the two countries to build on them and open new horizons for further dialogue and consultations.
In comments to Asharq Al-Awsat, Hefni stated that addressing Syria, Iraq and Libya during the first round of the talks that took place in Cairo is a “positive” matter.
He pointed to a change in Turkish policy towards official relations with Egypt.
“Turkey’s tendency to change its policy towards Egypt and open a dialogue with Cairo is something that we must build on during the coming period to hold other rounds of dialogue and consultations and lay the foundations for sound relations in the next stage,” he remarked.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that two-days of talks with Egypt on Wednesday took place in a positive atmosphere, adding that discussions would continue on future steps to normalize relations.
“The cases of Libya, Syria, Iraq and the eastern Mediterranean are important to all of us... and Egypt will also benefit from the cooperation that we achieve in this regard,” he added.
