Sisi and Erdogan agree that World Cup handshake will be start of new relations

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan shook hands in Qatar and described it as a new start in bilateral relations, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement on Monday, after years of tension.

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The two leaders were in Qatar for the start of the World Cup soccer tournament.

Ankara’s ties with Cairo have been strained since Sisi, then Egypt’s army chief, led the 2013 ouster of Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood, who was strongly supported by Erdogan.

The two countries started consultations between senior foreign ministry officials last year amid a push by Turkey to ease tensions with Egypt, the UAE, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

Egyptian officials had expressed caution over any rapprochement, although Erdogan said in July there was no reason high-level talks should not take place.

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