PM Erdoğan responds to Egypt by making ‘Rabaa’ gesture
Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has responded to Egypt’s decision of expelling the Turkish ambassador and downgrading ties by flashing “Rabaa” gesture during a rally in the
Black Sea province of
Trabzon Nov. 23.
Erdoğan has often used the gesture during his party rallys to show his support to the president Mohamed Morsi ousted after a military takeover on July 3.
The four-finger sign became the symbol of pro-Morsi supporters at the protests in Rabaa (which translates to “four” in Arabic) al-Adawiyah Square.
“Let’s reply in kind to Rabaa al-Adawiyah and call here the Rabaa al-İstasyon Square,” Erdoğan said at the end of his speech.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that they undertook the decision to downgrade the ties following Erdoğan’s remarks prior his departure to
Russia showing sympathy with Morsi.
“I applaud Morsi’s conduct at the court. I respect him, but I have no respect for those who put him on trial,” Erdoğan said at Ankara’s Esenboğa airport referring to the trial of the toppled Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated figure.
Controlled severance of relations
Without openly mentioning Egypt, Erdoğan said that in foreign policy countries could severe relations in a controlled way. “We will have good relations with the ones who act positively to us. We will be friends with those who want to be friend and open our doors. There can sometimes be quarrels but these can later be repaired,” Erdoğan said.
“We can carefully, and in a controlled manner severe our good relations with those who are bad. We can start new process when relations are bad with those who are good. This is diplomacy’s rule and the logic of foreign policy,” he added.
Erdoğan said that Turkey had upgraded its relations with almost every neighboring country during the ruling Justice and development Party (AKP) government. “With the exception of Syria, our relations with Iraq and
Iran are in a satisfactory level and improving. Our relations with
Russia and
Ukraine are manifest,” Erdoğan said arguing that a great power should have a vision on foreign policy. “A great [power] is not such state who fears its own shadow but acts by establishing with courage peace and brotherhood and embraces the world,” Erdoğan said also with implicit references to criticisms against last week’s Diyarbakıor meeting with the Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani.
“A state which fears its artist cannot be a great power. A state which does not protect the victims and who fears its own population, cannot be a great power,” he said.
POLITICS - PM Erdoğan responds to Egypt by making ‘Rabaa’ gesture