Erdoğan meets Sisi for the first time at World Cup opening ceremony

Photo: AA

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Egyp's President Abdal Fattah el-Sisi yesterday (November 20) for the first time after the 2013 coup in Egypt.

The meeting took place during the opening ceremony of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was also present.

Türkiye had refused to recognize the Sisi government, which had ousted President Mohammed Morsi, a member of Muslim Brotherhood. More recently, Ankara and Cairo initiated a rapproachment process with low-level diplomatic contact in 2021.

Erdoğan had said before about Sisi, "The current tyrant Sisi who took power with a coup has executed nearly 50 people. The West kept silent in the face of these executions. The European countries have participated in the meeting there with the invitation of murderer Sisi, while they are banning executions."

He had also said, "There are those who want to arbitrate between Sisi and me. I do not accept it under any circumstances. I will not sit at the same table with an anti-democratic ruler who executed Mursi and his friends who received 52 percent of the votes of the people."

On the sidelines of the ceremony, Erdoğan also met Mahmoud Abbas, President of Palestine National Authority, Abdullah II, the King of Jordan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait and Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA.

Again, Egypt laid an embargo on Qatar for three years due to the support of the Doha government to Muslim Brothers which was lifted early last year after a reconciliation. (RT/PE/VK)