Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said that relations between his country and Egypt "are developing and will reach high levels soon," considering that this "will be beneficial to Turkey, Libya and Egypt."
This came in a speech after a breakfast with the Turkish special forces on Friday in the capital, Ankara, and published by the Turkish Anatolia News Agency on Saturday.
Akar added, "We see that our relations with Egypt are developing, and this pleases a friend and gives confidence, and at the same time terrifies and frightens some people." "We have ties of brotherhood, friendship and common values with the Egyptian people, and we cannot be separated from each other."
On the nature of the current relations between Ankara and Cairo, he said, "There may have been a pause in our relations for several reasons, but I am confident with all my heart that this will be overcome in a short time, and that our brotherhood and our friendship with Egypt will reach very high levels again, and we will see that in the coming period." ".
The Turkish Defense Minister pointed out that the development of relations between Ankara and Cairo would be extremely beneficial and necessary for Turkey, Libya and Egypt.
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his country seeks to restore "unity of historical roots" with the people of Egypt.
Erdogan's statements came a day after Egypt and Turkey concluded exploratory talks in Cairo at the level of the two countries' deputy foreign ministers, which dealt with bilateral and regional issues, according to a joint Egyptian-Turkish statement.
The Cairo talks - which concluded last Thursday - came after statements by the Turkish President and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu last month about cooperation with Egypt in the fields of intelligence, diplomacy and economics.
Libya and Greece
On a related note, the Turkish Defense Minister - in his speech yesterday - touched on relations between Turkey and Libya, saying that their roots extend to 500 years, stressing that his country will continue to support Libya in its just cause, noting that some countries - and "in the forefront of Greece are Greece." It carried out provocative moves against the current Libyan government due to previous agreements concluded between Turkey and Libya.
The Turkish Defense Minister confirmed that he visited Libya early this week, and that both countries are in agreement on all common issues, and that his country continues its activities in Libya with the same enthusiasm and vitality as on the first day.
The Turkish minister added, saying that his country "continues its anti-terror operations, and at the same time continues and firmly to protect its rights and the rights of the Turkish Cypriots in Bahrain, the Mediterranean and the Aegean."
He explained that "dialogue is the way to solve problems with Greece," noting at the same time that Greece "continues its provocative activities," but stressed that Athens "will not reach its goal through these provocations and wrong positions."
Akar touched on the consultative meetings with the Greek side and the conflict resolution meeting. He expected a new meeting in Turkey on measures to increase confidence between the two sides.