Tunisian president meets Algerian FM, gets message from Tebboune

By Hassan Jebril
ISTANBUL (AA) – Tunisian President Kais Saied met late Sunday with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra amid a political crisis in the North African nation.

During the meeting, Lamamra conveyed a verbal message from Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to the Tunisian leader, the Algerian minister said on Twitter, without giving details about its content.

Last week, Saied sacked the government, froze parliament and assumed executive authority with the assistance of a prime minister.

The Tunisian president insists that his exceptional measures are meant to "save" the country while his critics accuse him of orchestrating a "coup."

Tunisia was the fourth stop in Lamamra’s regional tour, which already took him to Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

"I seized the opportunity to present the results of consultations I held recently regarding the Arab League summit scheduled to be held in Algeria as well as the Arab-African partnership," Lamamra said.

On Sunday, Egypt and Algeria reiterated support to the Tunisian president and “everything that would maintain stability in Tunisia and implement the will and choices of the brotherly Tunisian people, in order to preserve their capabilities and the security of their country,” according to a statement released by the Egyptian Presidency following talks between President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and Lamamra.

On Saturday, Tebboune made a phone call with Saied, who said that there will be “important decisions” soon, according to the Algerian Presidency.

Tunisia is seen as the only country that succeeded in carrying out a democratic transition among a group of Arab countries that witnessed popular revolutions that toppled their ruling regimes, including Egypt, Libya, and Yemen.

Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara