By Mahitab Assran
Deputy Foreign Minister for European Affairs Hatem Seif Al-Nasr on Tuesday called on Turkish Ambassador Huseyin Avni Botsali to object to his country’s stance towards recent events in Egypt, according to a high source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statements were also confirmed by another source inside the ministry. Both sources preferred to remain anonymous.
The ministry objected to the recent statements by Turkish officials concerning Egypt, considering them a “transgression of diplomatic norms and protocols” and a “clear and unaccepted intervention in Egypt’s internal affairs”.
The Turkish ambassador was advised that “if [Turkey’s] relationship with Egypt is as important as Turkey claims, then it is vital that they [the Turkish] change their method of dealing with Egypt”.
He also urged Turkish officials to start focusing on “competition” and Middle East issues instead of focusing on “narrow party disputes”.
Since the 30 June uprising that resulted in the military’s removal of former president Mohamed Morsi, Turkish officials have voiced constant criticism of the ouster.
On Saturday Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a speech during an iftar in Ankara expressing his discontent with recent events in Egypt and criticising Defence Minister Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi, blaming him for what he referred to as the “Rabaa Al-Adaweya murders”.
On Tuesday the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that Turkish officials had frozen 27 agreements with Egypt regarding health, education and transportation, while the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied having halted issuing visas to Turkish visitors.
