Erdogan seeks to drum up popular Egyptian anger against Israel

ALEPPO, Syria  (Press Release)–Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that “Israel must under no circumstance interfere” in what is happening in Egypt. He told the Turkish newspaper ‘Hürriyet’ that the US and Greece should intervene to stop Israel should it be “inclined to meddle in Egypt in a last-ditch effort to try and turn the tide against the anti-Mubarak demonstrators.” Speaking to a group of reporters at the opening of a “friendship dam” between Turkey and Syria, Erdogan said he had made this point to US President Barack Obama and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.

Last week, Erdogan had urged Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to “listen to the demands of his people” and “meet the freedom demands of people without a doubt,” indirectly calling for Mubarak’s resignation.

In Aleppo, Erdogan met with Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad  after attending the cornerstone laying ceremony for the dam. Ties between Turkey and Syria have significantly improved during Erdogan’s term. The Syrian president visited Turkey in 2004, which marked the first visit by a Syrian leader in 57 years.

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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress