Associated Press, Cairo | World | Sat, November 23 2013, 8:20 PM
Egypt downgraded diplomatic relations with Turkey Saturday and ordered its
ambassador expelled from Cairo, a sharp escalation in tensions between the two
countries that have mounted since the Egyptian military's ouster of Islamist
President Mohammed Morsi this summer.
Egypt's Foreign Ministry said the Turkish envoy has been considered persona non
grata and is being asked to leave the country because of what it described as
Ankara's continued "interference" in Egyptian affairs. It said it will scale
back its diplomatic relations with Turkey to the level of charge d'affaires.
In reaction to the decision, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told reporters that
he hoped our relations "will be restored soon."
Turkey's Islamic-rooted ruling party had strongly backed Morsi — a leading
figure in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood — as an example for the Arab world of a
democratically elected Islamist leader. It has criticized his July 3 overthrow
by Egypt's military, while also criticizing the West for what it has deemed a
weak response to a military coup.
Turkey and Egypt recalled their ambassadors in August after Turkey condemned the
ouster and a subsequent bloody crackdown on pro-Morsi protests. Turkey's
ambassador returned weeks later, but Egypt had declined to return its envoy to
Ankara.
Saturday's decision comes after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
renewed his criticism of Egypt's new leaders, dismissing the trial of Morsi
which opened earlier this month on charges of inciting murder of his opponents
while in office, and describing on Thursday the situation in Egypt as a
"humanitarian drama."
