Turkey, Egypt hold official talks as Ankara aims to end its growing diplomatic isolation

This week Egypt and Turkey held two days of talks on bilateral and regional issues aimed at reseting ties after nearly eight years of a diplomatic rift.

The talks come amid a charm offensive by Turkey toward Eastern Mediterranean and Gulf states aimed at ending its growing diplomatic isolation. Ankara has also sent out feelers to Israel, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia next week for talks. Amberin Zaman joins us to analyze this week’s talks between Egypt and Turkey, and look at Turkey’s latest outreach to Saudi Arabia.

Amberin Zaman is a roving staff correspondent for Al-Monitor covering the Middle East, with a particular focus on Syria, Iraq, and Turkey. Prior to Al-Monitor, Amberin Zaman served as The Economist’s Turkey correspondent.