Erdogan: 'Sisi is a tyrant, not a president'

Turkey’s prime minister and presidential candidate Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his condemnation of Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, describing him as a “tyrant”.

In an interview with CNN, Erdogan said: “I do not consider Al-Sisi a democrat, as he alleges. I also don’t view him as a president. He is a tyrant, and I have no doubts about this.”

Erdogan added that Egypt has no genuine role in the Palestinian issue and the peace process.

“If Israel’s goal is to occupy Palestinian lands, Turkey will stand against it, and of course Egypt should also stand against this,” he said.

Last week, the Egyptian foreign ministry summoned the Turkish chargé d’affaires to convey Egypt’s rejection of Erdogan’s remarks in which he accused Al-Sisi of being a “tyrant,” and of lacking legitimacy.

Relations between Egypt and Turkey have worsened since the military coup against democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi last summer, as Turkey has been among the staunchest opponents of the army’s move, led by Al-Sisi. Turkey was not invited to Al-Sisi’s inauguration, and diplomatic representation has been downgraded between the two countries since November, each of them considering the other’s ambassador as persona-non-grata.