Turkey seeks to normalise relations with Egypt, Syria - PM

Friday 02-09-2016 PM 02:34
Turkey seeks to normalise relations with Egypt, Syria - PM

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim speaks during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, July 19, 2016 in this handout photo provided by the Prime Minister's Press Office. Hakan Goktepe/Prime Minister's Press Office/Handout via REUTERS/Files

CAIRO, Sept 2 (Aswat Masriya) – Turkey is seeking to normalise relations with Egypt, and rebuild ties with Syria, said Turkish prime minister on Friday, according to Reuters. 

"God willing, there will be normalisation with Egypt and Syria," Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told a televised briefing.

"Turkey has started a serious attempt to normalise ties with Egypt and Syria,” he added.

The Turkish prime minister didn’t give a clear timeline for plans of restoring ties with Egypt and Syria.

Egyptian ties with Turkey have deteriorated since 2013, when Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led a military ouster of then-president Mohamed Mursi, following mass protests against Mursi's rule.

Sisi, the country's defence minister under Mursi, was elected as a president with a sweeping majority in 2014.

Turkey has also repeatedly called for President Bashar al-Assad to step down. The Turkish authorities however have recently undertook a milder stance regarding the situation in Syria, hinting they were ready for a political transition in which Assad would go at the end of the process.

This comes at a time when Turkey has moved to mend relations with Israel and Russia. It announced in June the restoration of diplomatic ties with Israel after a six-year rupture and expressed regret to Russia over the downing of a warplane.

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