Turkey, Egypt agree to restore diplomatic ties, says top diplomat

Turkey and Egypt have agreed to resume diplomatic relations, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday, ending a dispute of nearly eight years between the two regional powers.

“We have resumed contact on a diplomatic level [with Egypt],” Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the state news agency Anadolu.

There was no immediate reaction from Cairo.

Relations soured between the two countries in mid-2013 after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, the head of the armed forces at the time, toppled Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

In November 2013, Egypt expelled the Turkish ambassador and downgraded ties with Ankara to the level of charge d’affaires.

The nations are at odds over further issues as well. Turkey and Egypt support opposing sides in the Libyan conflict. They have also recently clashed over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.

Ankara and Cairo have agreed to “gradually” restore ties “without any pre-conditions,” Cavusoglu said.

Meanhwile, Cavusoglu said Turkey plans to host peace talks on Afghanistan in Istanbul in April.

The exact timing and the content of the talks have yet to be decided, the minister said, adding Ankara will appoint an Afghanistan special envoy.

Cavusoglu’s remarks come after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote a letter to Afghan government leaders suggesting ways to accelerate the peace process, including by convening a conference in Ankara.

Peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have been ongoing since September in Qatar.

Cavusoglu said the planned Istanbul meet is not an alternative to Qatar talks and that Ankara and Doha coordinate efforts to support the Afghan peace process.