Why Erdogan Initially Refused to Land in Sharm El Sheikh

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan informed Egyptian authorities that he would not attend the Gaza summit if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were present. According to Anadolu news agency, Erdogan's plane passed by the runway while approaching Sharm El Sheikh and spent some time in the airspace over the Red Sea before successfully landing.

The Turkish president's office stated to RIA Novosti that it had no information regarding the reasons for the incident. The editor of Turkish Ülke TV also reported on the situation, mentioning that President Erdogan was prepared to cancel his visit to Egypt and return home if Netanyahu participated in the scheduled peace summit.

After some time, when the Egyptian side assured him that the Israeli Prime Minister would not attend the meeting, the Turkish leader's plane landed in Sharm El Sheikh.