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Egypt's FM Shoukry visits Syria, Turkey in renewed earthquake diplomacy

The top Egyptian diplomat's visit to Syria and Turkey marks a first after almost a decade.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (L) and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) give a press conference at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Damascus, Syria, Feb. 27, 2023.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry visited Syria and Turkey on Monday to express solidarity with the countries following the earthquakes, in a fresh move showing Egypt’s thawing relations with both Ankara and Damascus.

Shoukry met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, expressing his solidarity with the country following the deadly earthquakes on Feb. 6, whose death toll in Turkey and Syria has exceeded 50,000. Assad told Shoukry he appreciated Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s phone call following the disaster.

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