Egypt escalates campaign against Turkey's Erdogan
Egypt is working to mobilize Arab states and the United Nations against Turkey's president over his foreign policies and criticism of the Egyptian government.
CAIRO — Since Turkey and Egypt publicly exchanged angry critiques of each other during the September UN General Assembly gathering in New York, Egypt has followed up with stern warnings about Turkey in the media and in officials' speeches.
Their dispute is nothing new, but after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted Egypt during his Sept. 24 address of the UNGA session, Mohammad Idriss, Egypt’s permanent representative to the UN, lodged an official complaint Sept. 25 with General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad Bande, and condemned Erdogan's foreign policy.
"Erdogan’s policies sponsor terrorism in Syria and support extremist armed militias in Libya," Idriss said. "He also commits crimes against his people and Kurds.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, who met with UN special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on the sidelines of the General Assembly, said then, “There should not be any kind of tolerance in dealing with countries that support terrorism and terrorist groups in Syria.”
