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Turkey says normalization with Egypt possible only with "inclusive policy" of Cairo

24 December 2014 21:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Turkey could normalize relations with Egypt only if Cairo "implements inclusive policy" which will reflect free will of Egyptian people, a Turkish spokesperson said on Wednesday, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Strained bilateral relations with Turkey and Egypt could be normalized only if the Egyptian authority "returns to proper democracy," Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgic told reporters in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

Ties could be restored "if Egyptian people's free will is reflected in politics and social life," the spokesperson said, underlining that Turkey's reaction against el-Sisi administration was due to Ankara's "principled stance" on democracy.

Ankara would consider rapprochement with Cairo, "only if Egyptian administration adopts an inclusive and equalitarian policy," he noted.

In an interview with Al Jazeera on Monday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said "we should promptly move relations with Egypt to healthier grounds. In order to accomplish this, Egypt should take the first step, but we must achieve this."

The Western world accepted Sisi's rule and there is a "de facto situation," Arinc said, noting that the whole world accepts this "de facto state as normal."

As a strong supporter of Muslim Brotherhood movement in the region along with Turkey, Qatar has recently attempted to thaw ties with Egypt, diverging from an agreement with Turkey over opposition to the el-Sisi administration.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi met in Cairo with a Qatari envoy last week, to end to the 18-month standoff over Doha's support of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Bilateral relations between Turkey and Egypt deteriorated since Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled former president Mohamed Morsi, whose party was affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, a political organization with close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP).