ANKARA: In a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry urged Turkey to withdraw its troops from Syria, citing the need to preserve the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Despite recent efforts to mend ties between the two nations, tensions remain high over Syria, where Turkey supports rebel fighters and has a military presence in the northwestern part of the country.
Shoukry’s visit to Ankara marks his third round of talks with Cavusoglu in two months as Turkey seeks to normalize relations with a host of Arab countries with which it has had rivalries in the past decade.
However, the Egyptian foreign minister made it clear that disagreements over Syria still pose a challenge to improving relations.
“I said that foreign troops should be withdrawn from Syrian territory,” Shoukry told reporters after the meeting. “Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty should be preserved.”
Turkey’s military presence in Syria
Turkey’s military presence in Syria has also complicated its efforts to set up a peace-building conference with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Egypt and other Arab governments have been increasing their engagements with Damascus, a push that has drawn criticism from Washington.
Shoukry recently received Syria’s foreign minister in Cairo for the first time since the civil war began more than a decade ago. However, talks between Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have been conditional on Turkey withdrawing its troops.
Cavusoglu reiterated Turkey’s longstanding position that its military presence in Syria is needed to fight “terrorism.”
Turkey has also launched a series of military incursions into Syria, primarily to target Kurdish groups it considers “terrorists.”
The meeting between the two foreign ministers underscores the delicate balancing act that Turkey is facing in its efforts to improve relations with Arab countries while also maintaining its military presence in Syria.
The situation remains unresolved, and it remains to be seen how Turkey will respond to Egypt’s call to withdraw its troops from Syria.
