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Turkish FM extends condolences to Egypt

Xinhua, April 10, 2017 Adjust font size:

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday extended his condolences to his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, over two terror attacks at churches on Palm Sunday, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The phone conversation is a rare diplomatic engagement between the two countries as their bilateral relations deteriorated after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ousted former Islamist President Mohamad Morsi in 2013.

The tension between Ankara and Cairo emerged from disagreement background between the two sides over the Islamist Brotherhood group, outlawed by Egypt and greatly supported by Turkey.

Ankara strongly reacted to the ousting of Morsi with strongly-worded statements from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Although the Turkish government has expressed its willingness to mend ties with Egypt, relations have yet to normalize between the two countries.

The twin bomb attacks in the Egyptian cities of Tanta and Alexandria killed at least 44 people and injured over 120 others. The Islamic State group has already claimed responsibility for the attacks. Endit