Egypt has blocked a UN call to respect democratically elected government in Turkey. A diplomat said that the United Nations’ Security Council failed on Saturday to condemn the violence and unrest in Turkey after Egypt objected to a statement that called on all parties to “respect the democratically elected government of Turkey,” reported Reuters.
According to Reuters, the U.S.-drafted statement also expressed grave concern over the situation in Turkey, urged the parties to show restraint, avoid any violence or bloodshed, and called for an urgent end to the crisis and return to the rule of law.
Statements by the 15-member Security council have to be agreed by consensus.
Egypt’s U.N. Ambassador Amr Aboulatta said,”We proposed different language that respects democratic and constitutional principles but the Americans refused to engage.”
In fact, Egypt asked for a call for all parties to “respect the democratically elected government of Turkey” to be removed from the draft statement, saying the council is “in no position to qualify, or label that government – or any other government for that matter – as democratically elected or not,” said the diplomat.
But the United States and Britain refused the proposed change to the text, and Egypt proposed that the council call on the parties in Turkey to “respect the democratic and constitutional principles and the rule of law,” the diplomat said.
The diplomat said that the Negotiations on the text ended at this point.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that it was “surprised that its proposed amendment was not taken up, and with the claim that it is obstructing the release of the statement.”
Turkish forces loyal to President Tayyip Erdogan succeeded in crushing an attempted military coup on Saturday after crowds answered his call to take to the streets in support of the government and dozens of rebels abandoned their tanks.
The Egyptian Turkish relations have deteriorated after the military coup in 2013 led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The coup overthrew Egypt’s first democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi. Turkey provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and it doesn’t recognize al-Sisi military regime .
