Turkey affirms friendship with people of Egypt despite diplomatic crisis

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has affirmed his country’s respect for and friendship with the people of Egypt despite the current diplomatic crisis. Commenting on the quarrel between Ankara and Cairo, the minister said that time will move on and “a new administration that respects the nation’s will is coming”.

He reiterated his conviction that the Turkish government can manage crises and is able to prove its friendship with the Egyptian people after passing through the current difficulty.

“The Egyptians expressed their real will for the first time in 2012,” said Mr Davutoğlu, stressing that what happened on July 3 was a “military coup” which removed the elected president of the republic. “Because we respect the will of the Egyptian people,” he explained, “we have taken a consistent and clear position against the coup.” Reinforcing democracy in Egypt, he added, would have given hope to the people of other nations who are dreaming about it.