WORLD NEWS | Turkey and Egypt to reappoint ambassadors as ties improve

ANKARA, April 13 (AP) Turkey and Egypt will soon announce the reappointment of their ambassadors, the foreign ministers of Turkey and Egypt said Thursday in Ankara, as the two regional powers put years of tension behind them. And repaired the strained relationship.

Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Turkish counterpart also said the two sides were trying to win over Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi possible meetings between them.

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Egypt and Turkey withdrew their ambassadors amid tensions between them after the Egyptian military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in 2013 amid mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. Morsi is from the Muslim Brotherhood, which is backed by Türkiye. Egypt has designated the group as a terrorist organization.

However, Turkey recently backed away from its critical stance against the Egyptian leader, with Erdogan and Sisi photographed shaking hands during the World Cup in Qatar in November.

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“You (reporters) often ask me when will I appoint an ambassador again?” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. “We’ve discussed this today and we’re taking concrete steps to move up the level of representation to ambassadorial level.”

Cavusoglu added that Turkey and Egypt would announce the reappointment of the ambassador in a joint statement “some time in the future”.

The rapprochement between the two countries is part of Turkey’s efforts to build bridges with regional countries and end its international isolation amid the economic downturn. Turkey has also recently repaired relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Cavusoglu last month became the highest-ranking Turkish official to visit Egypt in more than a decade. In February, Shoukry toured earthquake-stricken areas in Turkey and Syria to show solidarity with both countries.

Turkey and Egypt have clashed elsewhere, including Libya, where they sided with opposing sides.

But on Thursday, Cavusoglu said the two countries would “cooperate more closely” on Libya.

“We agreed to establish a (Libyan) government that reflects the will of the people and protects its territorial integrity,” Shoukry said. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the body of content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)