Turkey shows understanding of Libyan issue’s impact on Egyptian national security: FM Shoukry

CAIRO – 14 April 2023: Turkey has shown understanding of the importance of the Libyan issue and its impact on Egypt’s national security, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.

“This in itself is a good gesture,” Shoukry said in an interview with TEN TV on Thursday after concluding a one-day landmark visit to Ankara to complete the normalization of relations between Egypt and Turkey after a decade of tensions.

“There is a consensus between us about what we hope for regarding Libya, including having stable and unified Libya with full sovereignty over its lands, removing the foreign influences from it, and working on a new stage of [achieving] stability for the region and inside Libya,” Shoukry stated.

The top Egyptian diplomat affirmed that Turkey has interests in Libya, which should not have negative impact on Egypt.

“We do not set any restrictions or preconditions on any other bilateral relation as long as it does not have a negative impact on the Egyptian national security,” Shoukry stated while speaking about the Libyan-Turkish relations.

Shoukry added that he agreed with the Turkish officials on the need to crystalize further frameworks of joint action, noting that the Egyptian-Turkish relations can have a positive impact on Libya.

The Egyptian foreign minister also spoke about Turkey being a “direct party” at the Syrian scene, noting that the Turkish policy regarding Syria has to be developed to cope with the existing reality on the ground and to ensure the restoration of Syria’s sovereignty over all its territories”.

Shoukry also noted that Egypt, through its firm and strategic relations with Greece, can work to ensure decrease in tensions between Greece and Turkey in case both countries have the required political will and acceptance of an Egyptian role in this regard.

Moreover, it seems that Turkey has the willingness to encourage parties of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to reach a legally-binding agreement, Shoukry said.

On the possibility of restoration of Egyptian-Iranian relations after the recent normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Shoukry said Egypt “assesses developments and takes steps” accordingly in line with the Egyptian interests and Arab national security.

Shoukry said he hopes there will be a chance to listen to the Saudi officials’ explanation of the benefits yielded by the Saudi-Iranian normalization, which are related to the Arab national security.