The UAE has condemned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan`s claim that Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi is a "coup leader." Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Erdogan condemned the lack of international response to "the overthrow of the president" in Egypt, a reference to the ouster of Mohamed Morsi last year, and the "legitimising" of "the person who carried out this coup", a reference to El-Sisi. "We should respect the choice of the people at the ballot box. If we want to support coups... then why does the United Nations exist?" he said. In a Thursday statement on the UAE foreign ministry's website, the UAE described Erdogan`s speech as a "direct and blatant" intervention in Egypt`s internal affairs. UAE, a close ally and major financial backer of El-Sisi's government, said that Erdogan has exploited the platform at the UN for an "unacceptable" attack on legitimacy in Egypt. "The UAE denounces the speech of the Turkish president and calls on him not to interfere in Egypt`s internal affairs," read the statement. The Egyptian foreign ministry has also strongly criticised Erdogan`s speech, and canceled a bilateral meeting requested by Turkey, although Turkish officials denied such a meeting had ever been scheduled. "These lies are not strange to Erdogan, who is keen to trigger chaos and division in the Middle East through his support for terrorist organisations to harm the interests of the region's peoples with the aim of achieving his own aspirations," read the Egyptian foreign ministry statement. Bilateral ties between Cairo and Ankara have deteriorated since the ouster of Morsi, an ally of Erdogan. Source: Al-Ahram Online
