Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Cairo on Feb. 14—the first time in over a decade—for talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Talks reportedly focused mainly on an ongoing Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which shares a 7.5-mile-long border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Israel’s offensive, which began last October, has left thousands of Palestinians dead and led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis on Egypt’s doorstep.
At a joint press conference, Mr. al-Sisi welcomed Mr. Erdogan and hailed the “historical relations” between Egypt and Turkey.
Both countries, he said, were striving to bring desperately needed humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip via Egypt’s Rafah border crossing.
Egypt, Mr. al-Sisi said, “agrees with President Erdogan on the need to reach a ceasefire [in Gaza] and work towards an independent Palestinian state.”
The Turkish leader, for his part, said he was pleased to visit Cairo—following a 12-year hiatus—and thanked Mr. al-Sisi for his hospitality.
Mr. Erdogan went on to lament the “tragedy” unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where he said 28,000 Palestinians—mostly civilians—had been killed by Israel’s months-long offensive.
He also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of pursuing a “policy of destruction” in the Gaza Strip, which, he asserted, had served to reduce “mosques, churches, schools, and U.N. buildings” to rubble.
“A ceasefire must be reached as soon as possible, while aid deliveries must be allowed into Gaza without delay,” Mr. Erdogan said.
“The bloodshed must stop,” he added. “Turkey will continue to work with Egypt with a view to achieving this end.”
According to Mr. Erdogan, Turkey has sent 34,000 tons of aid to the Gaza Strip since the Israeli offensive began, much of which remains stuck at the Rafah crossing.
Fears Mount of Impending Attack
The Turkish leader’s visit to Egypt coincided with an anticipated Israel assault on the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing.Israel’s military says it wants to eliminate Palestinian terrorists who it claims are hiding in Rafah and free Israeli hostages allegedly held there.
According to local residents, Israel shelled eastern areas of Rafah overnight, along with parts of the Gaza Strip’s southern city of Khan Yunis.
The United Nations has urged Israel to refrain from staging a ground assault on Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are reportedly now seeking shelter.
“Military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter,” said Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs.
“The international community has been warning against the dangerous consequences of a ground invasion in Rafah,” he added.
“The Government of Israel cannot continue to ignore these calls,” Mr. Griffiths said in a statement released on Feb. 12.
The following day, talks between Egypt, Israel, the United States, and Qatar—ostensibly aimed at reaching a ceasefire—failed to achieve any breakthroughs.
Since Israel began its offensive four months ago, Egyptian officials have stressed their refusal to allow a mass influx of refugees into Egypt.
Cairo has rejected previous Israeli proposals to “resettle” the Gaza Strip’s roughly 2 million Palestinians in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
Israel’s offensive was precipitated by an attack by the Hamas terrorist group in which more than 1,000 Israelis were reportedly killed and scores more taken hostage.
Despite mounting international criticism, Israel has vowed to continue its offensive until Hamas—which has governed the Gaza Strip since 2006—is eradicated.
Hamas, for its part, says Israel must end its offensive and withdraw all its troops from the beleaguered coastal strip.
Ties Frosty Since 2013 Coup
Turkey–Egypt relations were suspended in 2013 when the Egyptian army—led at the time by Mr. al-Sisi—ousted and imprisoned Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically-elected president.For several years after the coup, Mr. Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party, which had supported Mr. Morsi, refused to recognize Mr. al-Sisi as Egypt’s legitimate president.
But relations started to thaw in 2022, when Mr. Erdogan met his Egyptian counterpart—for the first time—on the sidelines of the Soccer World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
This began a rapid process of normalization, which culminated last year when Egypt and Turkey exchanged ambassadors for the first time since 2013.
Earlier this month, Ankara surprised many observers when it announced plans to provide Egypt with Turkish-built drones.
Speaking in Cairo, Mr. Erdogan said bilateral talks would continue “with a view to achieving regional stability.”
“We hope these talks will be auspicious both for our countries and the region,” he said, inviting his Egyptian counterpart to visit Ankara “at the first opportunity.”
Mr. al-Sisi, for his part, said the Turkish leader’s visit had “opened a new page” between the two countries and “set relations on the right track.”
The two men also agreed to bolster military-industrial relations, hoping to increase bilateral trade to $15 billion per year within the next decade.
In recent years, Mr. Erdogan has also sought to mend ties with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, both of which backed Mr. al-Sisi’s 2013 coup.
He had also sought to normalize ties with Israel, but these efforts ground to a halt after the latter launched its offensive in Gaza.
