The recent announcement by Turkey of a new vision for the Middle East to be built upon a burgeoning alliance with Egypt raises the question of whether such a partnership could be realistic in the years ahead.
Turkey's desire for such a partnership was evident in the bold description provided last weekend by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who called for an "axis of democracy" anchored upon the region's two biggest nations.
However, the extent to which Egypt may be willing to embrace such an alliance is far from certain, says Michele Dunne, director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East in Washington.