Turkey is “flirting” with the Egyptian army … and Egypt responds: There are no new pages between us (full story)

Speaking by the Turkish Anadolu Agency, Yassin Aktay, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, praised the Egyptian army, calling it “great” and enjoying Turkey’s respect.

Aktay said in statements reported by the Turkish official Anadolu agency on Sunday that the Egyptian army will not fight its Turkish counterpart in Libya, adding: “The Egyptian army is a great army, we respect it very much, because it is the army of our brothers”.

A spokesman for the Turkish president went on to say: “We do not wish or expect the Egyptian army to be hostile to Turkey, and this does not mean that we are afraid of it.”

Aktay stressed that communication between Turkey and Egypt is necessary despite the differences between the presidents of the two countries, and said that he does not have precise information on the understandings between Ankara and Cairo on Libya, but added: “From what I hear and I see, there is convergence and communication between the parties. “

He said that his country is not occupying Libya, but is trying to bring peace and hand over the country to its people. He added: “If we agree (with the Egyptians) on this matter, then all the interests of the Egyptians will be inviolable, while the occupiers who want to occupy Libya must withdraw.”

Aktay accused France and an Arab country of inciting Egypt to fight Turkey, but said: “This is impossible and it will not happen.”

For its part, Egypt commented on the words of Sameh Shukri, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the speech of Yassin Aktay, adviser to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, saying: we monitor the actions, if this conversation is not in accordance with the policies, it does not have impact or meaning, especially from the policies we see. The presence on Syrian, Iraqi and Libyan lands, in addition to the existing tension in the eastern Mediterranean, predicted policies to destabilize the region.

And the Minister of Foreign Affairs continued, during a report broadcast by the “Public Opinion” program presented by journalist Amr Abdel Hamid, broadcast on the channel “TeN”, today Sunday: Everything that happens does not lead to a dialogue or understanding for start a new page. The issue is not about what is declared, but about actions and policies that reinforce stability and consistent with international relations and legitimacy, and that is what worries us at that stage.