UAE to restore ties with Turkey
Diplomatic tension between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been ongoing since the UAE openly supported the July 2013 military coup that ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, but diplomatic sources indicate that the UAE is stepping back from its anti-Turkey discourse in international politics and will send an ambassador to Ankara soon to restore ties with Turkey.
While the UAE has become one of the biggest financial supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Egypt, Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Egypt and a cool period in Turkish-UAE relations has existed ever since. UAE ambassador to Ankara, Khalid Khalifa al-Mualla, has reportedly not been at his post since the summer of 2013, although he is still officially assigned to Turkey. Several sources in Ankara confirm that the UAE's highest-level diplomat in Turkey has not returned for nearly two years. Amid this row, Ankara did not recall its ambassador in Abu Dabi and also appointed Mustafa Levent Bilgen to the UAE in December 2014 instead of the previous ambassador whose tenure had expired.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also acknowledged the UAE's efforts to normalize relations. Answering a question regarding Turkish-UAE relations while in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Çavuşoğlu said that Ankara recently gave permission to the UAE to appoint a new ambassador. "They appointed an ambassador [to Ankara] and we gave permission immediately and so they thanked us. We already share the same view with them regarding Syria and Egypt," Çavuşoğlu said.
The new UAE ambassador to Ankara is expected to present his letter of credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the coming days.
While the UAE has become one of the biggest financial supporters of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Egypt, Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Egypt and a cool period in Turkish-UAE relations has existed ever since. UAE ambassador to Ankara, Khalid Khalifa al-Mualla, has reportedly not been at his post since the summer of 2013, although he is still officially assigned to Turkey. Several sources in Ankara confirm that the UAE's highest-level diplomat in Turkey has not returned for nearly two years. Amid this row, Ankara did not recall its ambassador in Abu Dabi and also appointed Mustafa Levent Bilgen to the UAE in December 2014 instead of the previous ambassador whose tenure had expired.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also acknowledged the UAE's efforts to normalize relations. Answering a question regarding Turkish-UAE relations while in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Çavuşoğlu said that Ankara recently gave permission to the UAE to appoint a new ambassador. "They appointed an ambassador [to Ankara] and we gave permission immediately and so they thanked us. We already share the same view with them regarding Syria and Egypt," Çavuşoğlu said.
The new UAE ambassador to Ankara is expected to present his letter of credentials to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the coming days.