Turkey rejects easing relations with Egypt

Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that he rejected the reconciliation efforts for friendly relations with Egypt.

Turkey does not accept the legitimacy of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's rule, and once again closed the door to possible negations to normalise their relations, Xinhua quoted Erdogan as saying at the International Women and Justice Summit here.

Erdogan said the Egyptian security forces backed by Sisi had opened fire on supporters of the ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, in 2013 and killed thousands of people. He also accused the international community of being inactive on the violence.

However, Turkey's former ambassador to Ethiopia and former consul general to Libya, Murat Bilhan, urged Ankara to normalise its relations with Cairo and to think rationally.

To effectively fight the Islamic State group, Turkey needs to immediately boost its relation with Egypt, Bilhan said, adding that Turkey's attitude towards Egypt could be understandable, but would have no gains for both sides.

Turkey's relations with Egypt have soured since the Egyptian military ousted Morsi last year after wide protests against his rule.