Turkey denies Egypt refusing Erdogan passage to Gaza

Ankara has dismissed a news report that the new Egyptian administration which took office after the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi in a military coup is refusing to allow Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to travel to Gaza. An Egyptian report which also appeared in the Israeli media has said the Egyptian authorities are denying Erdogan passage to Gaza in protest of his staunch criticism of the ouster of Morsi. Erdogan has so far refused to recognize the new administration, saying for Turkey, Morsi is still the president of Egypt. A Turkish official speaking to Today's Zaman on Tuesday said the report did not reflect the truth, noting that Ankara has received no such information from Cairo. Erdogan has long planned to visit Gaza but has postponed it after the Egyptian coup. The United States has also put pressure on Erdogan to delay the trip to Hamas-run Gaza. Back in April, US Secretary of State John Kerry urged Erdogan to postpone his planned visit, suggesting it could endanger US efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks as well as to restore Turkish-Israeli ties.