Turkey and Egypt have normalised their relations after more than a decade of tensions: six months after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Cairo, his counterpart Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi has now paid a return visit to Ankara. What goals is Turkey pursuing with its charm offensive?
Open/close all quotes
Sidelining the Muslim Brotherhood
For Evrensel, al-Sisi’s visit to Ankara is important above all at the regional level:
“The picture before us also explains why the Erdoğan government, which yesterday indulged in neo-Ottoman dreams and sought a regional leadership role through its relations and cooperation with the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist forces, is today seeking a ‘normalisation’ that began with the UAE and Saudi Arabia and now continues with Egypt and Syria. So al-Sisi’s visit is significant for the Erdoğan government as a step towards a political course that is more aligned with the US and Nato and their collaborators in the region.”
Turning the ship around
Although Karar is glad that Turkey’s relations with Egypt have returned to normal, it criticises the policies of recent years:
“Ultimately it was completely wrong and damaging for Turkey to break off relations with Egypt out of hatred of al-Sisi. … Erdoğan had put relations between the two countries into a vegetative state. After some time, once this policy came to an end, unprecedented gestures were made to restore good relations with Egypt. Yesterday’s visit was a response to all the invitations and gestures. … Our Egypt policy was so misguided that even al-Sisi didn’t expect things to be so easy in the end, and that he would be the beneficiary.”
Ankara seeking influence in the Arab world
Greek Cypriots must face the fact that Turkey is growing stronger as a regional power, writes Phileleftheros:
“It’s clear that Ankara is exerting pressure on Cairo to improve relations at least to some extent. If this succeeds, it could help Turkey to emerge from its isolation vis-à-vis the Arab countries. As a major power in the Arab world, Egypt has the clout and influence to alter Turkey’s image as an occupying power in the region – if it chooses to. Should we be concerned about these moves? It’s clear that in the international political arena the logic of geopolitical interests prevails. … Developments in this area are dynamic and need to be continuously reassessed.”
Africa as a zone of influence
Hellas Journal points to how Turkey is expanding its influence in Africa:
“It is well known that the conflict was triggered by Ethiopia’s decision to establish a naval base in the breakaway Somali province of Somaliland. This drew an angry reaction in Cairo, and Ankara seems to be exploiting the situation. The mediation efforts are just a small part of what Ankara has already achieved in Africa. Through weapons sales, drones and financial aid that it gets back in other ways, Turkey has been pursuing a comprehensive plan aimed at spreading its influence in Africa for years, and it has now progressed to the point where Ankara is selling services to third countries, as in the case of Egypt.”