• 01:35
  • Friday ,15 July 2016
العربية

Egypt open to ties with Ankara given Turkish non-interference: Parliament Speaker

By-Ahram

Home News

00:07

Friday ,15 July 2016

Egypt open to ties with Ankara given Turkish non-interference: Parliament Speaker

Cairo is ready to cooperate with any state, including Turkey, given it does not interfere in Egyptian domestic affairs, Egyptian speaker of parliament Ali Abdel-Al told Sputink news during an official visit to Russia.

"My judgment on a matter is taken in balance with the opinion of the Egyptian people. We do not and we would not allow other states to interfere in our internal affairs. If a country respects this principle, we are ready to cooperate with any state, including Turkey," Abdel-Al said.
 
Abdel-Al's comments came as a response to Sputnik in response to a question regarding Egypt's reaction to the improvement of relations between Turkey and several of its neighboring states, including Russia and Israel.
 
Following Ankara's successful reconciliation with both Moscow and Tel Aviv, talks of a respite from three years of high tensions between Egypt and Turkey have dominated the media in both countries, with Turkish and Egyptian officials commenting on the issue of reconciliation.
 
The relationship between the two countries deteriorated after the 2013 ouster of Egypt’s Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).
 
On Wednesday, Turkey's deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said in an interview that his country would like to normalise ties with Egypt if it stays the execution of the Islamist former president, adding that Egypt should review the trials of Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders in independent courts.
 
The pattern of back and forth statements between the two countries revolves around Turkey criticising Egyptian policies and domestic affairs, and Egypt firing back that Ankara should focus on its own internal issues.
 
Last week, the Egyptian foreign ministry said it already has "reservations on dealing with Turkish leadership, which is adamant on adopting blundering regional polices," following the Turkish president's criticism of Egyptian leadership.
 
The ministry stressed that Egypt's leadership was selected in a "free, democratic poll", adding that the "starting point of establishing a normal relationship between countries is respecting the will of the people."