Political turbulence in Egypt ripples across Mideast

BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing political unrest in Egypt and the removal of President Mohamed Morsi from power by the army last Wednesday has triggered mixed reactions across the Middle East.

Analysts say the varied reactions significantly show that the wrestling among political powers in the region still continues. At the same time, they say, the turbulence in Egypt will affect its relationships with other countries and jolt the regional situation as a whole.

SYRIA: HAVING A CHANCE TO BREATHE

Syria on Thursday welcomed the ouster of Morsi, saying that Egypt witnessed "a deep historic turnabout" that mirrors the awareness of the Egyptian people who cling to their Arabism and reject foreign intervention in their national issues.

Concerning the ongoing domestic crisis, analysts say the Syrian government has signaled its strong opposition to interference from the West and regional nations, and against the ruling by religious powers.

The Morsi administration spearheaded those countries that supported a regime change in Syria. Analysts say the current upheaval in Egypt will undoubtedly help relieve Syria's external pressures.

Last month, Morsi announced he would cut ties with Syria, including diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two countries, however, have already reached consensus on reopening the Syrian embassy in Egypt three days after Morsi was ousted.

TURKEY: LOOSING A FRIEND

After the ouster of Morsi, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a three-hour meeting Thursday to assess the developments in Egypt. He also talked with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, stressing that the toppling of an elected president is unacceptable.

Regarded as a strong ally of Erdogan, Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood established close ties with the Turkish government. Erdogan and Morsi shared similar views on regional issues, including mediating last year's Palestine-Israel conflict and demanding the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Turkish experts believe that Morsi's ouster poses great uncertainties to Turk-Egyptian relations. Ties between the two countries would suffer serous damage if Ankara does not recognize the new Egyptian government supported by the military.

HAMAS: LOOSING A STRONG BACKING

The Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement, referring itself as an offshoot of the pan-Arab Muslim Brotherhood movement that Morsi hailed, has benefited from the political turbulence that jolted West Asia and North Africa in the last two years.

However, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, was deeply affected by its neighbor's power shift.

Morsi had repeatedly received Hamas leaders in Cairo during the past year, and eased restrictions imposed on the border area between Egypt and the coastal enclave.

But at the beginning of this month, Egyptian security forces tightened the border and destroyed 20 smuggling tunnels. The military also closed the Rafah border crossing.

Analysts said the ongoing changes in Egypt will not serve the interests of Hamas or the Gaza Strip in the coming days. Hamas has to reconsider its choice of taking sides between the future Egyptian government and the Muslim Brotherhood.