Egypt ready to reconcile with Turkey after polls

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an went on two important visits to regional capitals over the last two months: The first was to Riyadh on March 2, while the other was to Tehran on April 7. Between these two visits, a proxy war between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran broke out in Yemen, with the former - accompanied by around 10 Arab countries - launching a massive operation into its southern neighbor to remove Iran-backed Houthi rebels from power.

Only two days after the beginning of the military operation in Yemen on March 25, Erdo?an openly announced Turkey?s support for it, promising to provide logistical and intelligence assistance and harshly slamming Iran over its efforts to increase its influence in the region through a sectarian drive.

Erdo?an?s visit to Riyadh and his strong anti-Shiite messages created a generally-accepted conclusion that Turkey had joined the Saudi-led Sunni bloc at the expense of its traditional non-sectarian foreign policy. This is why Erdo?an?s visit to Tehran and his messages that Turkey is categorically against sectarian-driven policies in the region were quite significant. What?s more, Turkey?s efforts to initiate a new regional effort for a political solution to the Yemen problem are worth noticing.

It all shows how Erdo?an could demonstrate one of his most dramatic U-turns in less than two weeks. However, contrary to the predictions of some pro-Erdo?an and pro-government analysts and journalists, these recent messages will not be enough to secure a mediatory role for Turkey. It is obvious that the government must do more to reposition itself in the region as a powerbroker.

One of the issues that is believed to be on the government?s immediate agenda is to reconcile with Egypt, the heavyweight...