Cairo expels Turkish ambassador

China Daily | Updated: 2013-11-29 07:03

Turkey's ambassador to Cairo has returned home after being expelled in a diplomatic spat over Ankara's support for Egypt's ousted Islamist president, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

The row erupted at the weekend after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan again criticized the military "coup" in Egypt that ousted president Mohammed Morsi in July.

Egypt kicked out the Turkish ambassador, declaring him "persona non grata" and downgrading diplomatic relations.

The Turkish envoy, Huseyin Avni Botsali, landed in Istanbul late on Wednesday and left the airport without making any comment, the Foreign Ministry said.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said that he hopes relations will be put on a better footing soon, saying after Egypt's decision on Saturday that the situation was "temporary".

-AFP

(China Daily 11/29/2013 page11)