Turkey says talks planned with Egypt in early May to help mend ties

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that Ankara will send a diplomatic team to Egypt in early May for talks to restore ties between the two regional powers.

"Egypt has invited a delegation from Turkey. A delegation will go in the first week of May," Cavusoglu told an interview with broadcaster NTV.

The talks will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers, Cavusoglu said, adding the two countries will "talk openly" about what they need to do to normalize their relations.

Cavusoglu said he would meet his Egyptian counterpart at a later date.

Turkey last month said it agreed with Egypt to resume diplomatic relations to end a dispute of nearly eight years. Egypt initially dismissed the claim.

Relations soured between the two countries in mid-2013 after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi, the head of the armed forces at the time, toppled Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had backed Morsi, a senior official in the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Egypt.

The nations are at odds over other issues as well. Turkey and Egypt support opposing sides in the Libyan conflict. They also recently clashed over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean.

Ankara has been trying to defuse tension with Cairo over the past few months.