In an interview with the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations website, Rahman Qahramanpour said: “The most important reason that caused Turkey to change its previous policy towards Egypt was the internal developments in this country. It can be clearly stated that Turkey’s economic problems in recent years have led the country’s authorities to conclude that it should reconsider its regional policies.

He added: “One of the countries with which Turkey had serious problems was Egypt. During the civil war in Libya, Turkey, along with Qatar, supported one faction, and Egypt and Russia supported the other faction. “Naturally, this tension made the relations between Turkey and Egypt tense.”

Qahramanpour continued: “On the other hand, Turkey has been a supporter of Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood since the Arab Spring and did not recognize him when Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to office with an overnight coup.”

According to this expert, in addition to Turkey’s internal economic problems, regional developments and events in Turkey’s relations with the West were also effective in the proximity of Ankara to Cairo.

Stating that Turkey faced double pressure from the West in the Mediterranean, he explained: “The West provided arms to Greece and gave a serious warning to Ankara about Turkey’s maritime explorations in the Mediterranean in disputed areas. In this space, Egypt came close to Greece and Southern Cyprus, Turkey’s rivals in the southern Mediterranean region. As the pressures increased in the south Mediterranean region, Ankara concluded that it could no longer bear them. Therefore, Turkey changed its policy towards Egypt because of its position in the Mediterranean or geopolitical bottleneck. The strait that was somehow imposed on Turkey after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and after the Treaty of Sevres has reduced the power of this country’s naval maneuvers.

The expert on international issues emphasized that many of the islands that were given to Greece at that time are located a few kilometers from the borders of Turkey: “For example, there is an island three or four kilometers from Turkey that belongs to Greece.  Naturally, the deployment of military forces on such an island is a serious threat to Turkey, and the West, specifically France, also supported this policy. Even France granted a 6-billion-euro arms aid to Greece.

According to this expert, the third reason for Turkey’s review of its relations with Egypt is the developments in the Brotherhood axis, the Resistance axis, and the Arab conservative axis. After the Syrian war, the economic and financial situation of the conservative axis led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE was strengthened. At the same time, the pressures on the Brotherhood axis somehow increased. Turkey’s negotiations to normalize relations with Egypt started almost two years ago. Egypt had preconditions, a major one of which was to close the networks belonging to the Brotherhood group in Turkey. It refused to renew the residence visas of the Brotherhood members, to which Turkey responded positively to both demands.

He added: “Therefore, this issue was the outcome of negotiations and one of the main preconditions for Egypt to normalize relations with Turkey.”

Regarding Turkey’s view of the Muslim Brotherhood, Qahramanpour also said: “Turkey’s view of the Brotherhood is partly due to its relationship with Qatar. Because now Qatar and Turkey are the most important supporters of the Brotherhood axis, and Qatar is also its main financial sponsor. One possibility is that after the Al-Aqsa storm operation and the situation that happened to Hamas, the Brotherhood axis is in a weak position, and maybe this situation has strengthened Turkey’s motivation to normalize relations with Egypt. But as mentioned, Turkey’s policy towards the Brotherhood is affected by three variables: Turkey’s internal situation and economic problems, the second is Western pressure on Turkey, and the third is the developments that have occurred in the region, especially in the Mediterranean region.

He added: “But it can be said that the developments that happened to Hamas after October 7 somehow strengthened Turkey’s view and caused this view to change towards the Brotherhood axis.”

Qahramanpour also explained the future of relations between Egypt and Turkey: “If we look at it from Egypt’s point of view, the fact is that Egypt also needs this relationship badly; Egypt has serious economic problems, many foreign debts, water problems, etc.; Therefore, Egypt’s need for this improvement of relations is no less than Türkie.

He added: “Of course, it should be noted that Egypt has always acted conservatively in its foreign policy, and after the Arab Spring, the country’s position in the Arab world has weakened. Sisi is now more focused on Africa and cooperation in this region. The fact is that Egypt’s current political-economic conditions are not very attractive for Turkish investors.

Finally, Qahramanpour emphasized: “Turkey-Egypt relations will not progress in such a way that it will expand a lot and witness a significant change, but it will proceed at the same level of normalization and expansion of economic relations to a certain extent and neutralizing Egypt’s actions against Turkey in the Mediterranean. “