Bloomberg: Sisi could help Erdogan in … Greece

its boss turkeyAnd the Recep Tayyip Erdoganswallowing his pride, heading towards reconciliation with Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that he had for a long time treated with open disdain, but now needed to save his country’s battered economy.

The above is quoted in an analysis by Bobby Ghosh in the paper The Washington Post and Bloomberg.

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How can Sisi “help”?

But his decision to exchange a warm handshake with his Egyptian counterpart, General el-Sisi, reflects geopolitical reality more than economic necessity.

Unlike oil-producing countries, Egypt cannot offer Turkey large investments or loans: Cairo itself needs financial assistance from the Gulf Arab states, mainly to cover $16 billion in foreign debt.

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But Sisi, who is close to the rulers of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, could prove useful to Erdogan in maintaining these newly restored relations. The general can also act as a mediator with the United States, with which Erdogan often clashes.

But perhaps the most immediate service Sisi can render to his Turkish counterpart is as a mediator with Greece. Relations between Ankara and Athens have deteriorated to the point that Erdogan now regularly threatens military action.

His belligerent rhetoric is designed mostly to rouse his base ahead of next summer’s general election. But he will need the help of third parties so that things don’t get out of hand, the post says.