Egypt to evaluate relations with Iran, says atmosphere with Türkiye is positive

By Ibrahim El-Khazen

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Egyptian foreign minister said Thursday that the atmosphere with Ankara is positive, especially regarding the Palestine cause.

“The pace of contacts with Türkiye during the past month and a half, and the meeting of the two leaders in Doha is evidence of a real political will to develop relations,” Sameh Shoukry told Egyptian broadcaster Nashat Al-Daihi in an interview following a meeting with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara on Thursday.

He said that “several recent meetings with the Turkish side took place in a positive atmosphere."

The Egyptian foreign minister pointed out to the possibility of cooperation between the two counties in the field of energy, without giving further details.

He also linked the upgrade of Egyptian-Iranian relations to the recent thaw between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

On Libya, Shoukry said: "I sensed an understanding from the Turkish minister of the importance of the impact of the Libyan issue on Egyptian national security.”

“There is agreement among us to see a stable and sovereign Libya,” he added.

He further said: “Türkiye has interests in Libya … we do not place restrictions on any relations as long as they do not affect Egypt's national security."

“We agreed to formulate frameworks until reaching the goal of holding elections in Libya,” he added.

Regarding Palestine, he said: "There is a great agreement between Egypt and Türkiye in supporting the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."

"Egypt seeks to see a decrease of tension between Türkiye and Greece,” Shoukry said with regards to Turkish-Greek rapprochement.

“We see a self-interest in good Turkish-Greek relations. They will open areas of cooperation and coordination,” he added.

“It seems that there is a Turkish willingness to contribute to encouraging the parties to reach a binding legal agreement,” Shoukry said with regards to the possibility of accepting a Turkish role in resolving the crisis of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Nile, which has stalled for more than a decade.

Moreover, regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war, he said: “Egypt has been greatly affected economically by the crisis.”

“We encourage the parties to be open for dialogue,” he added.

Regarding the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting on Friday in Jeddah, he said the meeting is "an opportunity to inform the attendees of the current track with Türkiye.”

In a related context, regarding the Egyptian-Iranian relations, Shoukry said: "The developments that took place between Saudi Arabia and Iran are important.”

He stressed that "Egypt will take steps based on the evaluation of these developments.”

*Ikram Kouachi contributed to this report.