Egypt summons Turkish envoy over Erdogan slur

Cairo warns of further action in protest against Turkish PM’s criticism of Egypt’s stance on Gaza.

Relations have deteriorated after el-Sisi led the coup which overthrew Morsi from power [AFP]

Egypt has warned Turkey of “further action” as it protested for the second time in a week at the Turkish premier
criticising its president and Cairo’s handling of the Gaza conflict.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said it summoned the Turkish charge d’ affaires, the highest-ranking Turkish official in the country, over comments by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling Sisi a “tyrant” and criticising Egypt’s stance on Gaza. 

The ministry said Erdogan was driven by “narrow ideological interests,” referencing Turkey’s support to the Muslim Brotherhood group, listed as a terrorist organisation in Egypt, and defended the legitimacy of Sisi’s election.

“The continuation of the insults against Egypt and its elected leadership will undoubtedly lead to more measures from Egypt, leading to limited progress of bilateral relations,” the statement said.

The statement also said that Egypt’s charge d’ affaires in Turkey had conveyed “a message of strong protest” to Turkish authorities.

Deteriorating relations

Erdogan made the comments in a recent interview with broadcaster CNN.

Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty told AFP news agency that the protest came after Erdogan in that interview “repeated again that Sisi was a tyrant and that Egypt has no role” in resolving the Gaza crisis.

Erdogan also denounced Sisi on July 18 as an “illegitimate tyrant”, saying that Cairo could not be relied upon to negotiate a truce in Gaza.

The Turkish charge d’ affaires was also summoned after that incident.

Relations between Egypt and Turkey soured after Sisi led the coup which overthrew democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi.

Egypt expelled Turkish ambassador in Cairo and withdrew its ambassador in Turkey after it called for Morsi release from prison.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies