Why Sisi, Erdogan won't be making up anytime soon

In the last couple of weeks, Ankara has reconciled with two powers it has had rather deleterious relationships with: Israel and Russia. Is Egypt, a key remaining antagonist of Turkey on the international stage, on the brink of finding itself in the midst of a new relationship as well?

Cairo and Ankara have found themselves on the outs since mid-2013 following the removal by the Egyptian military of Mohammed Morsi from the Egyptian presidency. Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood movement were close to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and the overthrow of his presidency was deeply opposed on a variety of levels by Turkish leaders. The arrest and detention of scores of Brotherhood members and supporters by the Egyptian state following the overthrow only ensured that the relationship suffered further. That crackdown included the forced dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins at the Rabia al-Adawiya Mosque and Nahda Square in Cairo, where around 1,000 Morsi supporters were killed by Egyptian security forces — according to international and Egyptian human rights organizations — and the 2014 resignation of Egyptian Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi.

Since 2013, Egypt’s ruling establishment has been viewed highly negatively by Ankara, and Brotherhood exiles and Morsi supporters have found a great deal of support within Turkey. Conversely, Erdogan and his political party have also been portrayed adversely in Cairo, both by the state establishment and Egyptian media. Ankara has insisted that Morsi was removed illegitimately and ought to be reinstated, while Cairo demands that Turkey recognize the military removal of Morsi be recognized as a "revolution" as it was preceded by widespread protests against the Brotherhood. The differences would appear to be insurmountable — but are they?

Israel is deeply unpopular among Erdogan supporters for its stances against the Palestinians, with the West Bank and Gaza continuing to be under Israeli occupation. Moreover, Israeli forces killed a number of Turkish citizens aboard the Mavi Marmara solidarity Gaza Freedom Flotilla to Gaza in 2010. Russia supports the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Turkey insists that the Syrian revolutionary uprising of 2011 is legitimate and should result in the ending of that regime. Ankara continues to support armed resistance to that regime, while Moscow provided critical military support to Assad’s forces. Yet, in both cases, despite the astounding death toll, particularly in Syria at the hands of Assad’s forces, Ankara resolved to reconcile. In terms of material damage, Israel and Russia have exacted more harm to both Palestine and Syria than Cairo has with regard to the Brotherhood.