Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused
to speak to Egypt's new Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei, the latest broadside
in a spat that erupted after the military coup in the Arab world's most
populous country.
Erdogan infuriated Egypt's interim leaders after he voiced support for
ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.
"How could I speak to you? You were not elected, you were appointed by
the orchestrators of a coup," he said on Wednesday, addressing ElBaradei
in remarks carried on CNN-Turk's website.
ElBaradei, a prominent liberal and former head of the UN nuclear watchdog,
was sworn in on Sunday as part of a new cabinet appointed after the July 3
military overthrow of Morsi.
Erdogan, leader of the Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP),
had branded the coup as an "enemy of democracy" and said Morsi was
the only legitimate president of Egypt.
He said he had received a letter from ElBaradei seeking a telephone
conversation after his comments.
"They don't like what we are saying; they are uncomfortable with
it," Erdogan said. "They said certain comments were made without full
knowledge of the facts."
The interim government in Cairo on Tuesday voiced "strong
resentment" at Erdogan's comments about the overthrow of Morsi, Egypt's
first freely elected president.
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Copyright AFP
All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior permission in writing from AFP.