Egypt-Turkey relations: Egypt to summon Turkish envoy over Erdogan's Palestinian remarks
Turkish PM accused Egypt of lacking a sincere approach to the Palestinian issue; Erdogan last month called Egypt's Sisi an "illegitimate tyrant."
By REUTERSTurkish PM, Tayyip Erdogan(photo credit: REUTERS)
CAIRO - Egypt will summon the Turkish charge d'affaires in protest at comments by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who accused Egypt of lacking a sincere approach to the Palestinian issue, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.Erdogan made the comments in a recent interview with broadcaster CNN. The most senior Turkish diplomat in Egypt was already summoned earlier this month after Erdogan called Egypt's President an "illegitimate tyrant".Relations between Egypt and Turkey have soured since the Egyptian army last year ousted the governing Muslim Brotherhood, which Erdogan supports. Erdogan has also angered Israel of late.Last week, Erdogan made comments about Israel's actions in its operation against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip that caused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to complain to US Secretary of State John Kerry. Netanyahu told Kerry that the words of the leader of Washington’s close NATO ally were anti-Semitic and that they profaned the memory of the Holocaust.Erdogan, in the midst of a presidential campaign, said on Saturday that “Those who condemn Hitler day and night have surpassed Hitler in barbarism.” Herb Keinon contributed to this report.
