Foreign

EGYPTIAN Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, during the diplomats first ever visit to Damascus.

Shoukry’s trip would also take him to Turkey to offer condolences for the earthquake victims, convey a message of support and solidarity with both countries, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

It came after a decade of tense Egyptian relations with the two countries.

Shoukry told reporters in Damascus that he was “happy’’ to visit and that he conveyed a message of solidarity from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi to al-Assad.”

Al-Sissi spoke with al-Assad on the phone shortly after the earthquake.

Shoukry’s trip was the latest sign of closer ties between Arab states and al-Assad’s government after more than a decade of tense relations following the beginning of the civil war in 2011.

In Turkey, Shoukry would visit Adana and Mersin Port, where an Egyptian aid ship to arrive and meet with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

Relations between Egypt and Turkey soured in mid-2013 after the ouster of Egypt’s then-president Mohammed Morsi.

The two countries also supported opposing sides in conflict-torn Libya.

Around two years ago, there were steps towards rapprochement as officials from Egypt and Turkey began talks to resolve long-running differences.

More than 50,000 people were killed by the earthquake in the Turkey-Syria border region earlier this month.

-(dpa/NAN)

KN

Tags: President Bashar al-Assad Sameh Shoukry