Egypt Summons Turkish Envoy To Protest Erdogan's Remarks

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Sunday summoned the Turkish chargé d'affaires to protest recent remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which he criticized Egypt.



In a statement, the ministry said Assistant Foreign Minister for the Affairs of Eastern and Southern Europe had summoned the Turkish diplomat upon instructions from Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to convey Cairo's "anger" at Erdogan's remarks.



The Turkish government has not commented on the report yet.



Erdogan has criticized Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, accusing him of blocking humanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip.



"Egypt, instructed by Israel, has blocked ways of humanitarian aid to Gaza... Sisi is a tyrant, as well," he said on Friday.



Pointing to Egypt's proposed ceasefire between Palestinian factions and Israel, Erdogan said the ceasefire was proposed only to legitimize the regime in Egypt.



Relations between Egypt and Turkey deteriorated following last year's ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi by the army.



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