Turkish media is reporting on comments by a senior Turkish diplomat that discussions between Turkey and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood might be occurring at the party level. According to a report by a major Turkish newspaper:
Although there has been no official dialogue between Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, a senior Turkish diplomat indicated Thursday that discussions were likely occurring at the party level. “[There might be dialogue] between political parties,” the diplomat told a group of journalists in Istanbul on condition of anonymity, noting that a key Brotherhood figure, Ashraf Abdel Ghaffar, had been in Turkey recently. Ghaffar, however, denied that his group had contacted any Turkish political parties in any way, officially or unofficially. “We did not contact any party; we are currently concentrated on the media,” he told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Thursday….Ghaffar came to Turkey recently and said in a press conference Feb. 8 that he would stay in Turkey until the demonstrations in Egypt – which he said would continue until Mubarak steps down – produced results in order to inform the Turkish people about the developments in his country. He said he couldn’t return to Egypt at the present time due to security concerns….The Turkish diplomat said Turkey would await further developments in Egypt and provide assistance to the country if possible. “Turkey will be pleased to help, if it is asked for assistance,” he said, adding that for the time being it would be observing the situation and waiting for new developments. The diplomat also said the Turkish ambassador had not contacted representatives of the major opposition parties driving the revolution in Egypt, but that it could happen in the future. “For the time being, we are still [focused on]the security of Turkish citizens in Egypt,” …
The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) has recently published a new report titled “Turkey, the Global Muslim Brotherhood, and the Gaza Flotilla.” The report abstract states:
There is strong evidence for Turkish governmental involvement in the Gaza flotilla incident, with Turkish government support channeled through the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood. The IHH was not acting alone but rather was an integral part of a Turkish Muslim Brotherhood network.
With respect to the Global Muslim Brotherhood, report’s second conclusion states:
The Gaza flotilla incident brought into sharp focus an even more significant long- term development: the growing relationship between the Erdogan government and the Global Muslim Brotherhood, which has given rise to some of the most notorious Islamist terrorist groups – from al-Qaeda to Hamas. Since 2006, Turkey has become a new center for the Global Muslim Brotherhood, while the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip acted as the main axis for this activity
Read the rest here.