In preparation for the normalization of relations … 4 files on the table of the first meeting between Egypt and Turkey

After years of push and pull, Cairo hosts Egyptian-Turkish meetings in the presence of high-ranking diplomatic and security figures, in a visit that is the first of its kind between the two countries in nearly 8 years.

And Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu had previously announced that the meeting at the level of deputy foreign ministers in Cairo might discuss the issue of returning the ambassadors of the two countries, and a meeting would follow with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

Turkish media reported on Monday that Sadat Onal, the Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister, arrived at the head of a delegation to Cairo, while the Egyptian side did not issue any statement regarding this visit until Tuesday evening, when it was announced that the talks would be held on Wednesday and Thursday between Unal and Hamdi Sanad Loza, deputy Egyptian Foreign Minister.

The exploratory discussions will focus on the necessary steps that may lead to the normalization of relations between the two countries bilaterally and in the regional context.

The visit, which coincides with another visit of the Turkish foreign and defense ministers to the Libyan capital, Tripoli, is the first of its kind in terms of relations between the two countries, after the tension that I have known over the past years, and comes as a continuation of their efforts to normalize relations.

In a step forward, the Turkish parliament unanimously approved a few days ago, the formation of a parliamentary friendship committee with Egypt, in a new direction towards calm.

Omar Celik, spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party in Turkey, confirmed in statements Monday that his country is working on forming new mechanisms to discuss its issues with Egypt, and that the Turkish delegation’s visit comes within this framework.

He stressed the need for the two sides to discuss regional security issues, foremost of which are the Mediterranean issues, in addition to other issues such as gas exploration agreements in the Mediterranean. Advertising

3 stages

The Turkish writer and political analyst Abdullah Aydogan said that the Egyptian-Turkish relations pass through 3 stages, the first was the cessation of the mutual offensive statements, and the second was the restoration of diplomatic relations, indicating that they may be superficial relations, but they will remain strategic and important in cooperation in files such as Libya and East Average.

The third stage, according to Aydogan, comes within the framework of the restoration of relations as they were before 2013, which is expected to take more time, at a time when relations and the volume of trade exchange will reach record numbers.

Aydogan said that the decision of his country’s parliament to form two friendship committees with Egypt and Libya represents a positive step forward, because this committee and its members will travel to Egypt, and vice versa, which opens the door for Egyptian citizens to visit Turkey as well.

For his part, Mohamed Hamed, director of the Eastern Mediterranean Forum for Political and Strategic Studies (based in Cairo), said that the presence of parliamentary delegations and reciprocal visits between the two countries is a positive step, and that the industry committees in the parliaments of the two countries will move to strengthen economic and industrial relations.

As for the return of ambassadors, Hamed said that there is a kind of Turkish “eagerness” in this regard, indicating that a meeting may occur between the Turkish foreign minister when he visits Egypt and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, especially since the section of the Ankara ambassador in front of the President of Egypt represents recognition of the regime that It came after June 30, 2013.

According to Hamed, an indication of respect for Egypt and the rest of the Arab countries regarding the Turkish heritage is the failure to recognize the so-called massacres of Armenians in their parliaments, similar to the decision taken by US President Joe Biden recently and condemned by Ankara.

He added that this matter made Turkey move forward a bigger step towards Egypt and the Gulf states to promote reconciliation following the American recognition, which it considered a blow to relations with Washington, thus pushing it towards re-zeroing the crises with the Arab countries.

The Libyan file

In turn, the Egyptian researcher specializing in Libyan affairs Alaa Farouk did not rule out that this file would be at the top of the Egyptian-Turkish talks.

Farouk stressed that the rapprochement may result in great positive results on the Libyan file, and it will be in support of security and political stability, as it is one of the deep-rooted disagreements between Cairo and Ankara.

As for the upcoming electoral process in Libya, Farouk said that Cairo and Ankara support holding the elections on the specified date at the end of the year, as was stipulated in the road map at the Forum for Political Dialogue, which was supported by Egypt as the first country and is also approved by Turkey.

He considered holding the Libyan elections another step for rapprochement and clarification of views between Cairo and Ankara. It is expected that bilateral relations will proceed in a positive way in which coordination will be at a large level away from clash.

He anticipated if these steps were translated into practice, the two countries would sign a maritime agreement in the eastern Mediterranean, which would guarantee their rights and prevent the clashes that occur with Greece and other countries.

He added that these indicators will also reflect positively on the maritime border demarcation agreement between Turkey and Libya, as the rapprochement will push Egypt to concede the demands of canceling the agreement.

Divine appreciation

In a related context, Turkish analyst Abdullah Aydogan said that the Egyptian-Turkish crisis reached its climax with Ankara signing agreements with the Libyan Government of National Accord, but with divine appreciation the crisis became a reason for rapprochement between the two countries.

He said that Turkey understands Egyptian concerns about the security situation in Libya, and had a positive role in Cairo’s rapprochement with the new Libyan government, as there have become good relations unlike previous relations.

Aydogan confirmed that the Egyptian-Turkish consensus will push towards holding elections in the east and west, but complications remain related to the position of the militia of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar in the east of Libya.

Eastern Mediterranean

Egyptian and Turkish political analysts have previously agreed, in statements to Al-Jazeera Net, that the rapprochement between the two countries enhances their chances of success in the maritime conflict, which could ultimately lead to a bilateral bloc in the face of the contradictory eastern Mediterranean alliances.

In this regard, the Egyptian researcher Muhammad Hamed believes that Turkey needs to demarcate the maritime borders with Egypt, and will benefit greatly, and it is expected that Ankara will pressure Cyprus, Greece and the Palestinian Authority to sign similar agreements.

And he considered that the Egyptian relations with Turkey would allow the latter to explore for gas in the eastern Mediterranean, and to enter the “Eastern Mediterranean Gas Organization” (which includes Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Jordan, Palestine and Italy), and that it would be an active member in it, to benefit from oil extraction in a way that serves the regime’s agenda economically and electively.

The fall of the opposition

The truce between the two countries was directly reflected on the situation of the Egyptian opposition in Turkey and the curtailment of its media tools that take Istanbul as a platform for it. On the other hand, there were calls talking about expected Egyptian reactions against the “service group”, which was founded by Fethullah Gulen and is classified as “terrorist” in Turkey.

Commenting on the position of the opposition in the two countries regarding the Cairo meeting, Aydogan said that his country understood the Egyptian anger at the opposition media in Istanbul, and set media principles for him not to attack the Egyptian leadership in a harsh tone.

With regard to the Gulen community – according to Aydogan – Egypt should take similar positive steps against Gulen in Turkey’s favor.

In turn, the researcher in the affairs of Islamic groups, Mustafa Zahran, expected Turkey to place the file of the Gulen group at the top of the agenda of its meetings with Egyptian officials, indicating that it might reach Cairo’s demand to place restrictions on Gulen’s commercial and economic activities and its affiliated schools in Egypt.