Egypt has suspended agreements it had previously signed with the Turkish government for the restoration of Islamic and Ottoman-era antiquities, Antiquities Minister Mohamed Ibrahim said on Monday.
Ibrahim, who was touring historic sites near the coastal city of Alexandria, added that his ministry had taken the decision due to "the Turkish position on Egypt's June 30 revolution," in reference to official Turkish criticisms of the Egyptian military's July 3 ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi.
Relations between Cairo and Ankara have cooled since the army's removal of Morsi, the country's first democratically elected president.
Ankara, for its part, has described the move as a "military coup."
Ibrahim said his ministry was adopting measures aimed at preventing the sale – especially in the US – of antiquities smuggled out of Egypt following the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
He stressed that his ministry had already coordinated with the Egyptian embassy in Washington in this regard.
By Ahmed Selim
englishnews@aa.com.tr
