Turkey, Egypt Discuss Normalizing Relations During 2nd Round Of Consultations - Ankara

Turkey, Egypt Discuss Normalizing Relations During 2nd Round of Consultations - Ankara

Turkey and Egypt discussed the normalization of bilateral relations during the second round of exploratory consultations in Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday

ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th September, 2021) Turkey and Egypt discussed the normalization of bilateral relations during the second round of exploratory consultations in Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The delegations, headed by Turkish Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sedat Onal and his Egyptian counterpart, Hamdi Sanad Loza, met in the Turkish capital on Tuesday and Wednesday for the second round of consultations. The first round took place on May 5-6 in Cairo.

"They addressed bilateral issues as well as a number of regional topics, such as the situation in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean. The two sides agreed to continue these consultations confirming their desire to make progress in areas under discussion and the need for further steps to facilitate normalization of their relations," the ministry said in a statement.

Turkish-Egyptian relations deteriorated after the ousting of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 and the bloody clashes that followed. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan harshly condemned the actions of the Egyptian military against supporters of the ousted president.

Turkey and Egypt recalled their ambassadors for consultations in August 2013, which resulted in Cairo declaring the Turkish ambassador persona non grata and Ankara replying in kind to the Egyptian ambassador.