Egyptian FM in Syria, set to visit Turkey for first time in over a decade

Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Egypt’s foreign minister arrived in Syria on Monday to meet with his counterpart and is then set to visit Turkey, marking the first such visit to both countries after a decade of tense relations.

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad received Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Damascus for talks. According to the Egyptian foreign ministry, the visit to Syria and Turkey is aimed offering condolences for the earthquake victims and to “convey a message of support and solidarity to the two brotherly countries” at the time of an ongoing humanitarian crisis. 

Shoukry’s visit is the latest in a wave of support by Arab states to Syria triggered by the earthquake. Syria was expelled from the Cairo-based Arab League in 2011 at the start of its civil war, with the majority of Arab countries backing the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. 

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on February 6, killing over 46,000 people in both countries. The following day, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called Assad in the first official communication between the two leaders.

The same day, Sisi also reached out to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, showing signs of a potential diplomatic rapprochement between Egypt and Turkey. 

Cairo’s ties with Ankara deteriorated following Sisi’s rise to power through a coup that brought about the end of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi’s rule in Egypt. Sisi also outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization that received significant backing from Turkey, prompting many of its members to seek refuge in the country.

A delegation of senior Arab lawmakers, headed by Iraq's parliament speaker, met Assad in Damascus on Sunday, showing further signs of thawing ties.

The earthquake has provided the Syrian regime with an opportunity of normalization within the Arab world, with numerous states rushing to offer aid.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said last week that a consensus was emerging among Arab states that an end to Syria’s isolation and return to dialogue is needed in order to address the pending humanitarian issues.