Striking US analysis of Erdogan and Sisi handshake
Commenting on Bloomberg, Bobby Ghosn wrote a remarkable and comprehensive analysis of the rapprochement between Ankara and Cairo recently.
Noting that the two countries have become close after a long time, Ghosn recalled that President Erdogan has recently become close to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for economic reasons, saying, “However, Erdogan’s meeting with Sisi it reflects geopolitical realities rather than economic reasons. Unlike the oil countries, Egypt cannot invest in Turkey and even they are open to help,” he said.
Ghosn wrote that Sisi is close with names in Saudi Arabia and the emirate, and that Erdogan can use these relationships to build rapprochement with these countries. In the Bloomberg article, “Sisi may also act as a go-between with the US, with which Erdogan frequently clashes. But the quickest help Sisi could offer Turkey would be to negotiate with Greece. Relations between Ankara and Athens were tense. Erdogan can use Sisi’s good relations with Greece.
Erdogan and Sisi met last month in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
He said that for Sisi, mediating between Turkey and Greece meant Egypt’s importance in the eastern Mediterranean was clinched and it would emerge as a regional power.
THEY INTEND TO BE ORGANIZED FOR THE SUMMIT
Ghosn also made a claim about the two names meeting in Doha, the Qatari capital, last month.
Ghosn stated that “a date for a meeting between the two names has not yet been set, but President Erdogan may hold a comprehensive summit in the spring, as diplomacy needs success.”
In the article, it was stated that the Muslim Brotherhood issue was still a problem, noting that the Muslim Brotherhood-friendly media outlets broadcasting in Turkey were shut down, but these people were not extradited.
On this situation, Ghosn commented: “Erdogan did not deport them because this does not please the right in Turkey.” Ghosn, in his analysis, said: “For now, Erdogan needs his Egyptian counterpart. We look forward to more handshakes in the future.”
WHAT HAPPENED BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES?
Relations between Ankara and Cairo were strained in 2013 when Sisi overthrew Egypt’s elected leader Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood government. At the end of the same year, Sisi expelled the Turkish ambassador, and Erdogan declared the Egyptian ambassador persona non grata, persona non grata.
Breaking ties, Erdogan said he would never meet Sisi again. Subsequently, the two countries clashed indirectly in Libya and the eastern Mediterranean. However, despite the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries, economic cooperation continued. Bloomberg pointed out that a similar situation is also experienced with Israel.