Last week, the naval forces of Turkey and Egypt completed joint military exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, the latest sign of warming ties between the two former rivals, in what the New York Times said could be “a significant geopolitical shift in the Middle East.”
Egypt is looking to Turkey as a guide after emerging from authoritarian rule and economic devastation, while Turkey is working to expand its influence in the region after years of pushing for closer ties with Europe.
But the big question now, according to Paul J. Sullivan, a Middle East security expert at Georgetown University and columnist for a Turkish newspaper, is “how close they will get.”