Turkey recalls ambassador in Cairo for consultations, Egypt reciprocates

ANKARA / CAIRO

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan waves as he gets off a plane in Ankara. Erdoğan performed a one-day visit to Turkmenistan on Aug. 15. AFP photo

Turkey's ambassador in Egypt has been recalled to Ankara for consultations following the bloody crackdown in the country on supporters of the toppled President Mohamed Morsi, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Aug. 15. 

Mirroring Ankara's step, Cairo reciprocated by recalling its own ambassador in Turkey for consultations, Egypt's State Agency reported a few hours later.

"Nabil Fahmy, the foreign minister, decided to recall Egypt's ambassador in Ankara, Abdel Rahman Salah, for consultations," the state news agency reported a few hours later, giving no further details.

Erdoğan, who was returning from Turkmenistan, told reporters on the plane that Ambassador Hüseyin Avni Botsalı would come to Ankara to discuss the latest developments in Egypt.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Botsalı was expected to return from Cairo on Aug. 16.

Hours earlier, Erdoğan had reiterated Ankara's earlier call for the U.N. Security Council to convene quickly as the official death toll from the Aug. 14 crackdown rose to over 600. Erdoğan had also criticized the interim rulers' decision to declare a state of emergency.

Turkey adopted a harsh position regarding the military takeover in Egypt July 3, calling repeatedly for the release of Morsi, who has been held incommunicado at an undisclosed location.