The Greater Middle East (bbabo.net), - After years of tension in bilateral relations, the "historic handshake" between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Qatar has created opportunities for "behind-the-scenes diplomacy" between intelligence officials these two countries. It is reported by Reuters on November 29, citing two sources.
Intelligence delegations from the two sides met in Egypt over the weekend, the source said on condition of anonymity. A second source, a senior Turkish official, said "important" talks had begun between the two, and Turkey and Egypt were about to start talks on military, political and commercial issues, including energy projects.
Turkish government officials did not respond to a question about the meeting in Egypt. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, the US agency said.
Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters that Ankara and Cairo could fully restore diplomatic relations and reappoint ambassadors “in the coming months”: “Political consultations between deputy ministers could be held in the near future. An ambassador may be appointed in the coming months."
Diplomatic relations between Cairo and Ankara became strained after Al-Sisi, then the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army, led a military coup in 2013 against Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was actively supported by Erdogan.
Separately, an Egyptian intelligence source said that delegations in Cairo discussed how to bring their views closer together on common security issues. These issues included Turkish media outlets associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and heavily critical of the Egyptian government.
Hürriyet newspaper columnist Abdulkadir Selvi wrote: “Now I can write about it. President Erdogan not only shook hands with Egyptian President al-Sisi in Qatar, but also held a bilateral meeting with him. It was a 30-45-minute conversation, which the president himself hinted at a meeting with young people the other day and added: The process with Egypt has started. We will make grievances a thing of the past... The leaders of Egypt and Turkey discussed the situation in the Mediterranean and economic relations. In the future, an agreement will be concluded with Egypt on the example of Libya (on the demarcation of maritime borders). Thus, the Mediterranean Sea will be able to turn into a Turkish lake.”
The Turkish leadership is promoting the concept of "Blue Motherland" by Admiral Cem Gürdeniz. According to this doctrine, Turkey should expand its own water holdings in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas to 462 thousand square meters. m, becoming the leader in the region. In this regard, Ankara does not recognize the transfer of a number of islands in the Aegean Sea to Greece, and also supports the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
Recep Erdogan in 2019 went to sign a memorandum on military cooperation with the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). De facto, Turkey once again confirmed its position on Cyprus and the Greek Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and also blocked Greek airspace.
The Turkish side seeks to dominate the region by merging its own EEZ with the northeast coast of Libya. The memorandum itself openly violates the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but fits into the aforementioned "Blue Motherland" doctrine of Admiral Gurdeniz, which involves the establishment of Turkish dominance in the waters of the Mediterranean, Black and Aegean seas.
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