Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said in Cairo on Wednesday that they were turning a “new leaf” in their relations after over a decade of estrangement.
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The two leaders also criticised Israel’s conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip and called for a ceasefire.
Sisi welcomed Erdogan with great fanfare at Cairo airport before the pair signed several agreements.
They both called for “a new stage in relations”, an increase in trade to “$15 billion per year within a few years” and diplomatic cooperation in the Middle East.
Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel’s conduct in its war with Gaza’s rulers Hamas, again took aim at the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The Turkish leader, on his first visit to Egypt in more than 10 years, denounced Netanyahu’s “occupation, destruction and massacres”.
Erdogan said the Palestinians were “at the top of our agenda” and that it was “our priority to establish a ceasefire as soon as possible”.
Turkey was “ready to work with Egypt for the recovery and reconstruction of Gaza in the medium term,” he added.
For his part, Sisi criticised “Israel’s obstacles which mean that humanitarian aid enters Gaza too slowly”.
Egypt controls the Rafah crossing into Gaza, but Israel insists on inspecting every aid shipment.
Cairo has been hosting joint efforts with Qatar and the United States to broker a new truce between Israel and Hamas.
An Israel delegation was in…
Source : france24
