Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has condemned European Union leaders for attending a meeting hosted by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, days after the country executed nine suspected Muslim Brotherhood members, The Associated Press reported.
“Can you speak of human rights” in the EU when the bloc’s leaders agreed to be hosted by el-Sisi, Erdoğan said.
He was referring to a summit between EU and Arab League leaders held in Sharm el-Sheikh this week.
The nine were convicted of involvement in the 2015 assassination of the country’s top prosecutor.
Ties between Egypt and Turkey have been tense since the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi. Egypt accuses Turkey of becoming a refuge for Muslim Brotherhood members who fled Egypt.
Turkish officials earlier this month deported Mohamed Abdelhafiz Ahmed Hussein, convicted in absentia in the 2015 assassination case. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood movement identifies Hussein as a member.