Interim president Adly Mansour stressed to Turkish president Abdullah Gül Egypt's keenness to maintain strong bilateral ties with Turkey. Badr Abdel Atty, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Gül met on Monday with Abdel Rahman Salah Al-Din, the Egyptian ambassador to Ankara, who delivered an oral message from Mansour outlining the latest development in the Egyptian political arena. He also clarified the roadmap Egypt is adopting during the current transitional period, adding that it was set according to the constitutional declaration issued last week. Mansour's message expressed Egypt's keenness on maintaining "strong, strategic and historical relations with Turkey in all fields." "Effort is being exerted on all levels to interact with all countries, Turkey included," Abdel Atty said. He added that Mohamed Kamel Amr, caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoğlu earlier in the week to explain the exact situation in Egypt. "Amr told Davutoğlu that what happened in Egypt was a popular revolution, and that the army's intervention was only in response to the people's demands," Abdel Aty said. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a Turkish newspaper on Sunday that ousted president Mohamed Morsi was the only legitimate president of Egypt. Mohamed Abdel Qader, expert on Turkish affairs at the Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), said that he expects Turkish-Egyptian relations to be tense in the coming period. "Morsi's ouster doesn't only threaten the Turkish project in the Middle East to support political Islamist movements," Abdel Qader said, adding: "it also threatens the survival of the Turkish ruling Justice and Development Party in power, especially after the latest wave of protests opposing the party's policies." Abdel Qader expected Erdogan to lead an international campaign against Egypt to "internationally corner it". Abdel Qader said that Egypt's response should come through isolating Turkey from the region. He stated that Turkey's relations with neighbouring states such as Syria, Israel and Iran is already tense, and should the Gulf States take Egypt's side on the matter, Turkey would be regionally isolated. "Then, the Turkish opposition would push the authorities to shift their policies towards Egypt," Abdel Qader added. Morsi's removal from power on 3 July has sparked debates both domestically and abroad. On 5 July, the African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council suspended Egypt from all union activities. Egyptian diplomats have upped efforts to discuss Egypt's internal situation with their counterparts abroad, including African, French and Hungarian officials.
