Türkiye-Syria ties could develop in the future in a similar manner to how Türkiye developed ties with Egypt, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Sunday.
"Just as Türkiye-Egypt relations started to normalize, in the next period it can also happen with Syria. There is no room for hard feelings in politics," Erdoğan emphasized at an event in Konya.
Referring to his recent meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Qatar, Erdoğan said el-Sissi was "very happy" with this meeting and "we also conveyed the same wish."
He also said "hopefully" the normalization process with Egypt will continue at the ministerial level.
"Recently, we have experienced a problem spanning nine years. We took a step that evening, with the support of Qatar's emir. After overcoming the tension, we had a narrow-scoped meeting with el-Sissi for half an hour or 45 minutes," Erdoğan said.
Detailing the two leaders' meeting in Qatar, Erdoğan said: "Now let our lower-level ministers start the talks, and then let us expand and develop our talks, all we care about is to remove this resentment between you (Egypt) and Türkiye. There should not be such a problem between Türkiye and Egypt in the Mediterranean."
"Now that the process has begun, a process will continue with our ministers and then come together in the Mediterranean. The connections between the Egyptian people and Türkiye are very different, we should not lose this power to others," he added.
Erdoğan stressed that there are those who wanted to turn Türkiye's discontent with the Gulf countries into their benefits, adding: "When these issues are eliminated, the plans are collapsed."
"Our relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are in a very good position. It will be even better," he said, adding: "This is obviously disturbing some circles."
Last week, Erdoğan shook hands and chatted with el-Sissi as the two met in the Qatari capital on the sidelines of the opening of the 2022 World Cup.
Egypt and Türkiye had not deployed ambassadors since 2013 when relations worsened following the ousting of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi by military chief el-Sissi, now the country’s president. Türkiye-Egypt ties have continued at the level of charge d'affairs since 2013. During this period, brief meetings were held between the foreign ministers of the two countries on various occasions. Meanwhile, the Turkish Embassy in Cairo, the consulate in Alexandria, the Egyptian Embassy in Ankara, and the Consulate in Istanbul have continued their usual activities.
The normalization process between Türkiye and Egypt continues at a gradual pace. The two countries started consultations between senior Foreign Ministry officials last year amid a push by Türkiye to ease tensions with regional powers including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel and Saudi Arabia. Erdoğan said in July there was no reason high-level talks should not take place.
