Egyptian diplomatic source affirmed that President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi will not attend the 13th summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to be held in Turkey's Istanbul next April, Youm7 news reported Friday. The source said that Turkey officially invited Egypt last week, in order to hand over presidency of the summit to Turkey. On the other hand, the source ruled out normalizing relations between Cairo and Ankara any sooner, denying the rumors about Saudi mediation between the two governments to ease the tensions that have been on the rise since the ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, an ally of Erdogan, following mass protests against his presidency in July 2013. Turkish media outlets reported that an unprecedented meeting could take place between President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, however, both presidents have not held talks since Sisi came to office in June 2014. "How Turkey could expect the participation of President al-Sisi, after Ankara's intervention in the Egyptian domestic issues?" The source wondered, affirming that low profile Egyptian delegation will take part in the handover ceremonies in Istanbul.
