Erdogan-Sisi handshake and the Muslim Brotherhood

Have you seen the photograph? Turkey’s president Erdogan shaking hands with his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fatah Al-Sisi at the World Cup in Qatar on 21 November? No, no shaking handshakes. With a wry grin, they hold hands. Look at it perceptively, please.

Erdogan who has repeatedly referred to Sisi as a murderer and a putschist… Sisi who has repeatedly accused Erdogan of attempting to destabilise his country by supporting a terrorist organization that is the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). They shook hands. Erdogan now claims that he intends to meet with al-Sisi as soon as the foreign ministers reach agreement on specific issues.

Two weeks prior to this handshake, the security teams of both countries met and agreed not to take any actions that would jeopardise their respective countries’ security. This should be interpreted as Egypt asking Turkey to reconsider its Libyan policy and Turkey asking Egypt to reconsider its position vis-a-vis the Mediterranean. According to Egyptian sources, Turke…