Egypt Stresses Developing Arab Ties With Turkey, IranEgypt has stressed the importance for Arab countries to develop ties with both Turkey and Iran, two Muslim heavyweights in the Middle East, the Egyptian Gazette newspaper reported on Wednesday.Addressing the first annual meeting of the non-governmental Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa on Tuesday called for proper handling of strains, if any, between the Arab world and the two neighbors. "We can not think of the future of peace in the Middle East without taking into consideration the Arab world's relations with Turkey and Iran," Moussa told the audience. The Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, set up in June 1999, is an independent think tank on regional and international issues which groups former diplomats, military commanders, businessmen and intellectuals. "The international political environment is still in a state of flux and the future of the Middle East will be greatly affected by the changes taking place in this amorphous system," Moussa said. He emphasized Egypt's keenness on maintaining good relations with Ankara, saying that Turkey plays a key role in the Mideast political and economic arena. A predominantly Muslim but politically secular nation, Turkey has become a regional ally of Israel. The Arabs were dubious of their relations with Turkey, although it claimed that its cooperation with Israel is not aimed against any third party and it attaches importance to ties with Arab and Islamic countries. Moussa also said that progress has been achieved in improving Cairo-Tehran ties, adding that positive steps are being taken toward a normalization of relations. Tehran cut off diplomatic ties with Cairo in 1979 after Egypt signed a peace agreement with Israel, which it refused to recognize but viewed as its arch-enemy. The two sides, nevertheless, have come closer in the past few years due to joint efforts. Moussa said last Sunday that Egypt and Iran have held high-level talks aimed at normalizing the ties, which "are making progress." The talks followed a telephone conversation June 21 between Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Khatami, the first direct contact between leaders of the two countries in more than two decades. Since taking office nearly three years ago, Khatami, a moderate, has been advocating a policy of detente, instead of the previous policy of exporting Islamic revolution. This change enabled Iran's Arab neighbors, especially the Gulf states, to seek warmer relations with it. |
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