Cairo expelled Ankara’s ambassador after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the repression of Morsi’s supporters.

Egypt and Turkey pare diplomatic ties over 

Ankara’s backing of Muslim Brotherhood

Locked in a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood since President Mohammed Morsi’s ouster, Egypt has launched a diplomatic offensive against the movement’s foreign backers armed with funds from its old foes.

In their first salvo soon after Mr Morsi was toppled, the military-installed rulers took aim at Qatar – the only Gulf monarchy that openly supported the Brotherhood – by closing the Egyptian channel of Al Jazeera television.

The authorities also detained some journalists working in Cairo for the Doha-based network. In addition, officials said Cairo was willing to return to Qatar funds given to Egypt during the Morsi presidency.

But the main confrontation for the new authorities is a diplomatic one that has developed with Turkey.

On Sunday, Cairo expelled Ankara’s ambassador after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the repression of Morsi’s supporters.

The tussle began soon after Egyptian security forces broke up two camps of Morsi supporters on August 14 in Cairo, in what was the bloodiest episode in Egypt’s modern history.

A day later both Cairo and Ankara recalled their respective ambassadors, but while Ankara later sent its envoy back to Egypt, Cairo’s ambassador to Turkey stayed at home.

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