The presidents of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the president of Egypt, Abdelfatá al Sisi, have exchanged their first handshake on Sunday during the opening of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, according to the Turkish presidency.
The photo, published by Turkish media, shows the two leaders, whose relations have been frosty since al Sisi came to power in 2013 after deposing Islamist Mohamed Mursi in a military coup, greeting each other with a smile.
Erdogan went so far as to claim in 2015 that Egypt’s president is Mohamed Mursi and not Abdelfatá al Sisi, who led the July 2013 coup.
«I have consistently said in a multitude of international forums that I do not accept al Sisi as president. I say the same today. For me, the president of Egypt is not Al Sisi, it is still Mursi,» Erdogan said at the time during a press conference in Sarajevo.
«It is not possible for a country that believes in democracy to accept the death penalty imposed on Egypt’s president, Mohamed Mursi, who was elected at the ballot box,» he argued. «For us, who believe in democracy, it is impossible to accept this coup d’état,» he added.
Egypt had been calling for a formal meeting between Erdogan and Al Sisi as one of the conditions for full normalization of relations. The process began in May, with a visit to Egypt by Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati.
Tension between the two countries has further increased in recent years over territorial disputes in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is allied with Libya in its claims over territorial waters with potential hydrocarbon resources, while Egypt is further allied with Greece.
