Turkey’s Secret Egyptian Channel
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's latest statements on Turkey’s Egypt policies prompt speculation about what comes next.
Events in Egypt and Syria continue to take horrific turns, with no end in sight. So far, Turkish leaders have taken a bold stand in speaking openly about the unbearable atrocities in the region by blaming the West, the Russians, the Iranians and the Arabs for failing to find a solution in the beginning. The issue is not whether Turkey is wrong to call out these events for what they are and invite the international community to action, but what Turkey is doing to prevent the situation from worsening.
Alas, it was quite stunning when Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shared with the public that Turkey had sent its intelligence chief to Egypt, days before the coup took place, to meet with now-ousted President Mohammed Morsi. “Our prime minister sent our friend [Hakan Fidan, head of Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT)] to Egypt on a special assignment 10 to 15 days before the coup. There were talks with Morsi and security officials,” he said on Aug. 21 during a live TV interview with Kanal 24. “Fidan was dispatched to Egypt because the Turkish government considered the situation [in the country] critical.”