Diplomatic gulf with Turkey widens

CAIRO (AP):Egypt downgraded diplomatic relations with Turkey yesterday and expelled its ambassador from Cairo, a sharp escalation in tensions between the two countries that mounted after a military coup ousted the country's Islamist president this summer.

In a quick reaction, Turkey reciprocated by declaring the Egyptian ambassador persona non grata and downgrading relations with Egypt to the same level. Egypt's ambassador hadn't been in the country since August over the turmoil.

Yesterday's decisions, which fall short of closing diplomatic missions in the two countries, are a dramatic reversal of the warming relations between the two countries over the past year.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry said it considered the Turkish envoy persona non grata and asked him to leave the country. The ministry said it will scale back its diplomatic relations with Turkey to the level of charge d'affaires.

"This (Turkish) leadership has persisted in its unacceptable and unjustified positions by trying to turn the international community against Egyptian interests and ... by making statements that can only be described as an offence to the popular will," the Foreign Ministry statement said.

A Turkish ministry statement said Egypt's interim government, "which came to power in exceptional circumstances," was responsible for the deteriorating relations.

"The deep-rooted ties and bonds of brotherhood between the people of Turkey and Egypt will remain," the statement said.

"We hope that stability and democracy in Egypt is restored as soon as possible and that relations between the two countries are normalised."