Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to El Alamein, Egypt on Friday and launched a direct attack on the Greece-...

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan traveled to El Alamein, Egypt on Friday and launched a direct attack on the Greece-Cyprus-Israel trilateral, telling Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty that the partnership was designed to divide the Eastern Mediterranean, with Turkey on one side and Egypt on the other. Speaking alongside Abdelatty, Fidan described the trilateral as a hostile alignment, claiming it sought to draw a line "right down the middle of the Eastern Mediterranean" before the Mecca Agreement came into force. He positioned the Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan alliance framework, known as the Mecca Agreement, as a cooperative alternative that he insisted was not directed against any single country. Fidan also used the visit to court Cairo into formally joining the Mecca Agreement. He stated that Egypt is examining "certain details" but called it Turkey's "natural partner" and expressed hope that Egypt would become an official member soon. Egypt's foreign minister gave no commitments in return. Cairo's caution is well-founded. Egypt has no appetite for joining a bloc dominated by Turkey and Saudi Arabia, both of which are competing for leadership of the Muslim world. Egypt also maintains strong ties with India, a strategic rival of Pakistan, another key Mecca Agreement member. According to Turkish media, Fidan also met with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, where the Eastern Mediterranean was on the agenda, with Ankara reportedly seeking to pull Egypt away from its strategic commitments to Greece and Cyprus. Libya, Sudan, and the ongoing war involving Iran were also expected to be discussed. Fidan attacked Israel sharply during his visit, warning that its refusal to allow a Gaza deal could force Turkey, Qatar, and Egypt to take "radical initiatives." He called on the United States to pressure Israel and said failure to do so would leave the three countries with no choice but to act together. Egypt remains the first Arab country to have recognized Israel diplomatically and shares a border with Gaza. Despite frustration over the conflict, Cairo is not prepared to join an explicitly anti-Israel defense arrangement and prefers to maintain its role as...