Cairo - Egypt on Thursday said that Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan's claim that former Islamist president Mohammed Morsi
was killed is a "baseless" allegation.
Morsi, who was deposed by the military in 2013, died on Monday after
suddenly collapsing inside a courtroom in Cairo.
Egyptian state media said that Morsi, a senior official in the
now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, died of a heart attack.
On Wednesday, Erdogan said Morsi did not die of natural causes, but
was killed. He vowed that Turkey "will do whatever is needed to put
Egypt on trial in international courts."
In response, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday said
that his country was ready to face any threats.
"Such unproven talk, with which he [Erdogan] fills his speeches and
statements, only reflect the fact of his close link to the terrorist
Brotherhood organization," Shoukry said in a written statement.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has claimed that former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi did not die of natural causes but that he was killed. Picture: Presidential Press Service via AP
The Egyptian official called Erdogan's remarks "irresponsible."
Ties have strained between Egypt and Turkey since the army's mid-2013
overthrow of Morsi following mass protests against his rule.
Morsi, who died aged 67, was Egypt's first democratically but
divisive president. After his ouster, he was detained and tried in
several cases.