Turkey says has no problem with Egypt, its people

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu addresses a meeting in Gaziantep on Sunday. (Photo: DHA)

Turkey has no problem with Egypt and the Egyptian people but it is uneasy with the country’s government, which came to power through a coup and overlooked the demands of its people, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Davutoğlu reiterated that Turkey will never approve of a government that comes to power through a coup.

“Turkey had adopted a principled stance about this issue and this stance is not restricted to Egypt,” he said. He also expressed hope that a political process will begin that reflects the demands of the Egyptian people. “Then the picture [of Turkish-Egyptian relations] will change,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has also reiterated his stance on Egypt issue, saying Turkey needs to mend its ties with the country.

Arınç’s remarks came during an interview with TV channel Habertürk over the weekend. “We are against coups. However we may need to take steps considering Turkey’s interests. I believe that we need to follow a new foreign policy on Egypt,” Arınç said.

The deputy prime minister said there have been different stances towards the Egypt issue between some countries but it is the duty of every country that believes in democracy to react to a coup.

According to some reports, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani called on Turkish officials to take steps to normalize Turkish-Egyptian relations. Recent reports, quoting diplomatic sources, have said Qatar’s emir stressed that relations with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will inevitably improve.

Qatar is also known as the staunchest supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), while other regional countries see the MB as a threat, especially after its role in the Arab Spring.

Previously, Qatar and Turkey had both criticized Egypt’s former military head and current President Sisi. But the Qatari emir’s office released a statement on Dec. 21 announcing its intention to normalize ties with Sisi, adding that Egypt’s security is important for the security of Qatar and that the two countries are linked by deep, fraternal ties.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry had attempted to mend ties with Egypt over the past year but every attempt was undermined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s highly critical remarks about Sisi.

Erdoğan has regularly spoken critically of Egypt’s leader, saying that he came to power through a military coup and has no legitimacy. Erdoğan is known to be a supporter MB, a political Islamist group that was ousted from power by Sisi and is now considered a terrorist organization by Egyptian authorities.

A Qatari envoy on Dec. 20 met with Sisi in Cairo, one day before Qatar’s statement signaling normalization with Egypt.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also warned Erdoğan in July that Turkey cannot contribute to peace in the Middle East without mending relations with Egypt, a key actor in the region.

TODAY’S ZAMAN / ISTANBUL