Turkey's Erdogan to visit Cairo with Syria high on agenda
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo with talks focused on Syria, as Egypt turns to Ankara to allay concerns about Syria’s new government, Middle East Eye reveals.
Erdogan will attend a summit of developing nations, called the D-8, in the Egyptian capital on 19 December, one Egyptian official told Middle East Eye on Friday.
Egypt initially extended the invitation to Erdogan before the government of Bashar al-Assad was toppled in an offensive led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a Turkish official confirmed to Middle East Eye on Friday.
The toppling of the Assad government, which had previously reconciled with Arab leaders despite hosting Iranian troops, has unnerved Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and even Qatar, with concerns about the former al-Qaeda affiliate taking power in Syria.
Turkey enjoys close ties to HTS, giving Turkey unrivalled influence in Syria's new government, western and regional officials say.