Seeking to restore relations between the two countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signaled preparations for a meeting between Turkish and Egyptian officials after a years-long lull starting in 2013, which also points to the possibility of improved relations between Ankara and Damascus.
Erdogan said in a speech broadcast on Sunday that the process of building relations with Egypt would begin with a meeting of the ministers of the two countries, and that negotiations would develop from there.
After years of tension between the two countries, Erdogan shook hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Qatar last week in what the Egyptian president’s statement called a new start in their bilateral relationship. On a television talk show recorded on Saturday in the Turkish province of Konya, Erdogan said he spoke with Sisi for about 30-45 minutes at that meeting on the sidelines of the World Cup in Qatar.
Erdogan said: “We focused our talks with Mr. Sisi there and said, ‘Let’s now exchange low-level ministerial visits.’ After that, let’s expand the scope of these negotiations,” he said, also pointing to the possibility of improving relations with Syria.
