Turkey, Egypt launch 1st diplomatic-level contacts after 8 yrs

Turkey and Egypt have launched diplomatic-level contacts years after former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was ousted in 2013, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"We have contacts both at the level of intelligence and Foreign Ministries with Egypt. Diplomatic-level contacts have started," Xinhua Cavusoglu as saying on Friday. Neither Turkey nor Egypt had put forward preconditions for starting these talks, the Minister said, noting the bilateral ties, which were strained for years, could not be restored at once and easily.

Turkey and Egypt downgraded their diplomatic relations since Morsi, a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was ousted following mass protests against his one-year rule in 2013.