Egyptian - Turkish summit soon

Turkish Minister of Culture Istemihan Talay delivered a written message to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak from Turkish president Suleyman Demirel, addressing relations between the two countries and developments in the region.

The message came after an Egyptian-Syrian summit in Damascus last Thursday in which the two expressed their anxiety toward the Israeli-Turkish military alliance and the joint maneuvers between Israel, Turkey and the US in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mubarak, during last week's Damascus summit, expressed Egypt's rejection of any threats directed against Syria and expressed suspicions over the Israeli-Turkish military cooperation.

Ankara for its part is greatly concerned with easing Cairo's worries. Talay said that a meeting between Mubarak and Demirel is to be held soon, saying the two leaders are willing to meet.