Turkey expelled envoy to Cairo returns Turkey

Turkey’s ambassador to Egypt has returned home after Cairo expelled him from the African country and declared him persona non grata amid diplomatic tensions between the two countries.

Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that Huseyin Avni Botsali landed in Istanbul late on Wednesday.
The row between the two countries erupted after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on November 21 renewed his criticism of Egypt’s military “coup” that toppled former president Mohamed Morsi.
A bitter row over Egypt’s August crackdown on Morsi’s supporters led Ankara and Cairo to recall their envoys. Turkish ambassador returned to Egypt in September, however, the Egyptian ambassador remained in the African country.
On November 23, Egypt expelled the Turkish envoy and downgraded ties to the level of charge d’affaires. Cairo also said that it would not send its envoy back to Ankara.
Ankara also made similar decision later in the day, declaring Egyptian ambassador to Ankara Abderahman Salah El-Din persona non grata and downgrading diplomatic relations.
On Tuesday, Erdogan said that Ankara “will not stop saying what is right and standing by the Egyptian people just because the coup-installed government in Egypt is disturbed.”