Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan launched a fierce attack against Greece and Cyprus during his visit to Egypt, seeking to persuade Cairo to join the Saudi Arabia–Turkey–Pakistan Alliance.
H. Fidan, who began a two-day visit to Egypt yesterday, which aims to fully restore relations with Egypt and persuade the largest Arab country to join the Mecca Agreement, in his remarks in El Alamein, in the presence of his Egyptian counterpart M. Abdelati, chose to highlight the Greece–Cyprus–Israel trilateral alliance – Israel as a framework directed against Turkey, but also against Egypt.
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According to Turkish media, the Turkish foreign minister stated that, prior to the Mecca Agreement, the trilateral partnership between Greece, the “Greek Cypriot Administration in Cyprus”(as he referred to the Republic of Cyprus) and Israel had attempted to “draw a line right down the middle of the Eastern Mediterranean, with Turkey on one side and Egypt on the other.” He was quick, of course, to add that the Mecca Agreement establishes an alliance, which “is not directed against any country, but concerns the creation of a framework for cooperation and the establishment of deterrence.”
The message the Turkish foreign minister sought to convey was clear, as he took care to highlight within Egypt the “threat” of the trilateral partnership with Israel, thereby putting his Egyptian counterpart in a difficult position, given Egypt’s strategic relationship with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus. And it is clear that with this specific statement, he is positioning the Mecca Framework as a rival to regional frameworks in which Israel participates.
Moreover, in his remarks, H. Fidan launched a fierce attack on Israel, stating that Israel’s refusal to allow the implementation of the Gaza agreement could “prompt us, along with other mediators, to take a radical step together.” And, calling on the U.S. to put pressure on Israel, he warned that otherwise “Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt will have to take drastic steps on this issue. “This is a responsibility we owe to our nation, our people, and the Palestinians.”
Regarding the Mecca Agreement, H. Fidan stated that Egypt is examining “certain details, but it is our natural partner, and we hope, God willing, that it will soon become our official partner.”
The Egyptian foreign minister, however, avoided making specific commitments, as Cairo remains quite cautious about participating in a framework in which Turkey and Saudi Arabia, which make no secret of their ambitions for a leading role in the Muslim world, as well as Pakistan, which is a strategic rival of India—a country with which President Sisi maintains excellent relations.
Egypt does not wish to align itself with any particular camp in this competition or in the ongoing realignment of power in the Middle East, seeking to maintain a distinct, autonomous role, based in part on the fact that it is the most populous Arab country in the Middle East and North Africa. In fact, while it has managed to strike a balance by maintaining good relations with the U.S. as well as other major powers, the close relationship that has developed between Cairo and the UAE also plays a role in its decisions.
The Egyptian government, too, despite the outrage caused by Israel’s stance on the Gaza issue, is not prepared to join a purely anti-Israeli defense alliance, as it not only shares a border with Israel but is also the first Arab country to have recognized it diplomatically. The Egyptians, while certainly not going out of their way to accommodate Israel, want to maintain channels of communication so that they can play an intermediary, mediating role, if necessary.
In any case, Fidan’s visit opens a significant window of opportunity for the restoration of Turkish-Egyptian relations, following the deep rift caused by President Sisi’s ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood leader, M. Morsi, by President Sisi.
During yesterday’s talks, as well as in H. Fidan’s meeting with President Sisi, other issues will also be raised, such as Libya, where, after years of confrontation, there are the first signs of agreement between the two sides on Libya’s future, as well as Sudan and, of course, the war in Iran.
Turkish sources report that the Eastern Mediterranean will also be on the agenda, which, given Fidan’s statements, will aim to dissuade Egypt from the commitments it has undertaken through its strategic relations with Greece and Cyprus.
Source: Proto Thema
