CAIRO (AA) – Representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) met Wednesday with a visiting delegation of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkey's main opposition party.
"We were keen to stress the importance of maintaining Egyptian-Turkish relations, regardless of who is in the government or the opposition," Amr Darrag, a senior JFP leader and a former planning minister, told Anadolu Agency.
He said the JFP delegation, which also included former minister Mohamed Ali Beshr, has made their position clear to the Kurdish opposition.
"The problem now is that there is no democracy," Darrag said, reiterating determination to restore "democracy and legitimacy in order to be able to initiate a dialogue for the future."
He asserted that the CHP delegation, led by the party's deputy chairman Faruk Logoglu, did not "directly" tackle the need for dialogue between the JFP and the Egyptian authorities.
"We affirmed that we are ready to engage in dialogue provided that confidence-building measures are taken, including an end to hatred-mongering campaigns, detentions and crackdown on peaceful protests in order to pave the way for a serious dialogue," Darrag made clear.
The CHP delegation asked the JFP delegates about Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements on the Egyptian crisis and his criticism of Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb.
"We told them that we don't see the remarks as a criticism of Egypt or Al-Azhar imam, but rather of political positions," Darrag said.
"It is very important to maintain the good relations between Egypt and Turkey and their peoples," he asserted.
Turkish government officials have been highly critical of the Egyptian army's July 3 ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi following mass protests against his presidency.
Turkey describes the move as a "military coup."
Darrag said that the meeting also tackled reports about a possible US strike against Syria.
"Though we oppose the Bashar al-Assad's regime and call for his removal, we oppose any military intervention," said the Muslim Brotherhood leader, citing the situation in Iraq following the 2003 US invasion.
"We see that Bashar should be toppled from within," Darrag said.
He noted that the FJP and CHP shared the same view about rejecting the military action, "even if our views differed from those of the official Turkish position".
The US is mulling a possible military strike against Syria over last month's alleged chemical weapons attack by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad on civilians.
The August 21 poison gas attack in the Ghouta region near the Syrian capital Damascus killed more than 1,600 civilians, including women and children.
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