Turkish Government in intense work over Egypt’s turmoil.

Turkish Government in intense work over Egypt’s turmoil.(HD).

Ankara is witnessing a series of high-level meetings concerning developments in Egypt, amid the Turkish government’s growing anger over the Egyptian security forces’ heavy crackdown on Muslim Brotherhood protestors and the international community’s perceived poor response.

President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will hold a summit on Egypt today, a day before the country’s top security board is set to convene to discuss all regional developments, with particular emphasis on Egypt and Syria. The two were scheduled to meet Aug. 18 but the reunion was cancelled at the last minute. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is also expected to join the president and the prime minister. Before the Aug. 20 meeting, Gül was briefed by Turkish Ambassador to Egypt Hüseyin Avni Botsalı, who was called back to Ankara for consultations following the Egyptian security forces’ brutal intervention against protestors. When asked when Botsalı would return to Cairo, Gül underlined that he had been recalled for consultations, meaning the ambassador could be resent to Egypt in the near future.

In parallel to these talks, the Turkish government has intensified its diplomatic efforts to push the international community to stand against the coup in Egypt, while further raising its voice against the interim government.

Botsalı joined the weekly cabinet meeting in order to brief ministers concerning the latest developments in Egypt. He earlier separately briefed President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu about the course of developments in a country where he has been serving since 2009. According to sources, the Cabinet has reviewed the crisis in Egypt and its potential consequences on both bilateral relations and in the Middle Eastern region. Economic relations have already been negatively affected of the turmoil in Egypt, following leading Turkish companies’ recent decision to suspend operations in the country. Despite problems, however, Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan has said Turkey is not considering suspending its economic relations with Egypt.

An overall assessment will be made during the National Security Council (MGK) meeting tomorrow, with the participation of top military officials including Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel. Ambassador Botsalı is also expected to join the meeting and brief the members of the MGK.

Davutoğlu also continued his diplomatic traffic over the weekend, holding phone conversations with counterparts including Tobias Jagland, the President of the Council of Europe, and other European officials.

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