Ankara has no knowledge of Morsi asylum offer: Turkish PM

ANKARA

Egyptian supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood place pictures of deposed President Mohamed Morsi on a makeshift barricade during a rally outside Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque on July 5. AFP photo

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said today that Ankara has not received any request from Egypt regarding giving asylum to the elected president Mohamed Morsi, ousted two days ago by the country's powerful army.

"No offer has come to us regarding Morsi defecting to Turkey. We have not received such information. It hasn't been a question until now," Erdoğan said at a press conference in Ankara today, alongside visiting Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Media reports quoting military sources have suggested that Morsi turned down an offer by the Egyptian armed forces to leave the country for Turkey, Qatar or Yemen.

However, Erdoğan revealed that Ankara had knowledge of rumors that Morsi would be tried within the next 48 hours, as a result of "intelligence agreements with very different countries."

"This would be a historical mistake. The steps made up to now are not right. What they have to do is to go to elections within the shortest possible timeframe," he added.

The prime minister also repeated his stance that Turkey did not view favorably the intervention of the Egyptian army into politics.