Many signs indicate a Turkish-Egyptian rapprochement, after Egyptian and other Turkish officials stated that Ankara’s signing of an agreement with Libya regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders does not harm Egypt’s interests, and the Turkish Defense Minister does not rule out that Ankara and Cairo conclude an agreement similar to the Libyan-Turkish agreement.
Turkey does not exclude
Turkish Defense Minister “Hulusi Akar” did not rule out concluding an agreement with Egypt, in line with the maritime border demarcation agreement concluded with Libya and registered with the United Nations.
Akar, according to the Russian agency, Sputnik, appreciated Egypt’s respect for the Turkish continental shelf during its exploration activities in the eastern Mediterranean, pointing to the possibility of developments in relations with it during the next few days.
Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Qalin previously stated that Egypt is “very happy” that Ankara has signed the maritime border demarcation agreement with the Government of National Accord.
Qalin added, according to the Anatolia News Agency in December 2019, that they had received information from official and unofficial channels that Egypt was very happy with their maritime agreement with Libya.
Egyptian hints
On the other hand, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in December 2019 that the agreement signed between Turkey and Libya regarding the demarcation of the maritime borders does not affect Egypt’s interests.
The Greek newspaper “Kathimerini” said that Egypt had opened the door to understanding with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean region, rich in natural gas resources, by announcing a tender to search for hydrocarbon energy, taking into account the borders of Turkey’s continental shelf, according to the Anatolia Agency.
In November 2019, Turkish President Rejep Tayyip Erdogan and the President of the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, signed a memorandum of understanding for security and military cooperation between the government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of National Accord, the State of Libya, to demarcate the maritime borders between the two countries.
