Turkey draws road map with Egypt, but will Cairo follow it?
Turkey is once again hinting at openness for dialogue with Egypt, but real progress remains elusive.
CAIRO — Once again, Turkey is reaching out to Egypt for political rapprochement. Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters Dec. 30 that Turkey and Egypt are working on shaping a road map for their bilateral relations.
He added that the Turkish and Egyptian intelligence and foreign ministries have been in touch to promote their relations according to the principle of non-conflict in international forums.
Cavusoglu’s statement comes a few months after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed Turkey’s desire to open dialogue with Egypt in September. Erdogan said in statements to the media, “We have no problem having dialogue with Egypt. Intelligence talks with Egypt are different and possible, and nothing is standing in the way.”
Egypt has not officially commented on Cavusoglu’s statements, but an Egyptian diplomatic source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “Cairo is waiting for actual actions, rather than mere media statements. Actions should be aligned with words.”
