Egypt, Turkey diplomats in 'exploratory talks' as tensions thaw
Egypt, Turkey diplomats in 'exploratory talks' as tensions thaw
The Egypt-Turkey meetings follow talks at the Cairo summit for Middle Eastern leaders in May – the first time that direct high-level discussions had taken place between the two countries in eight years.
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Talks led by the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers are underway [Getty]
Egyptian and Turkish diplomats will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to revitalise bilateral ties after nearly a decade of hostile relations, their foreign ministries have said.
Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Önal and his Egyptian counterpart Hamdi Sanad Loza will lead the talks in Ankara.
Egypt's foreign ministry said the visit is "in response to an invitation by the Turkish foreign ministry".
The Egypt-Turkey meetings follow talks at the Cairo summit for Middle Eastern leaders in May - the first time that direct, high-level discussions had taken place between the two countries in eight years.
The countries broke ties in 2013, following a military coup in Egypt that overthrew the country's first democratically-elected government. Late Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was ousted from power by the military, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
Sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Libya's upcoming elections are expected to top the agenda in the "exploratory talks".
Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the talks will address gas exploration in the Mediterranean, while Anadolu Agency said the talks are "expected to address bilateral relations as well as several regional issues".
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