After the announcement of the Turkish government’s intention to nominate a new ambassador in Cairo and the statements of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu about the imminent normalization of relations with Egypt, the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood apologized for accepting the annual invitation of the Turkish President’s Adviser, in which the group’s leaders gather to break the fast in Ramadan, and it was held yesterday, Thursday.
Yassin Aktay, advisor to the President of the Turkish Justice and Development Party, extended his annual invitation to the Iftar of Arab and Turkish intellectuals to gather the group’s leaders and members in Istanbul, talk to them, discuss their problems and exchange views on various issues, but the Brotherhood leaders apologized for accepting the invitation claiming that they were preoccupied with other engagements.
A number of Brotherhood media and broadcasters, and a number of their members residing in Istanbul, participated in Aktay’s banquet, as well as other numbers of Brotherhood members in Arab countries, specifically Syria and Yemen.
The Brotherhood’s leaders’ refusal to accept Aktay’s invitation comes a few hours after it was revealed that the Turkish government intended to appoint an ambassador to Egypt, 9 years after the departure of the last Turkish ambassador from Cairo in 2013.
Western media said that Ankara decided to appoint Saleh Mutlu Shin, the former representative of Turkey to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as its ambassador in Cairo, stressing that the Turkish government is awaiting the approval of the Egyptian authorities.
She noted that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had notified Shin of his candidacy, as Ankara would seek confirmation from the Egyptian government.
All this came after months of joint talks between officials of the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministries in preparation for the normalization of relations between the two countries.
The two sides held joint talks in Cairo and Ankara that dealt with bilateral relations, as well as a number of regional files. During which several files were discussed in preparation for closing the page of differences and beginning the normalization of relations.
The talks focused on bilateral relations and stopping any hostile behavior or targeting Egypt and its leadership from Turkish territory.
Turkey decided earlier to stop the Brotherhood’s media, political and incitement activities in its territory and prevented the group’s media professionals from criticizing Egypt and decided to stop their programs and leave the country.
In previous statements, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expressed his hope to “increase cooperation with Egypt and the Gulf states to the maximum extent,” adding that his country has opportunities for serious cooperation with Egypt in a wide area from the eastern Mediterranean to Libya.