Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said he supports the Syrian military, a position AFP reports. The former army chief, who has overseen a warming of ties with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's main backer Russia, made the comments during an interview aired Tuesday with Portuguese broadcaster RTP.
"Our priority is to support national armies, for example in Libya to assert control over Libyan territories and deal with extremist elements. The same with Syria and Iraq," he said, responding to a question on whether Egypt would contemplate a UN peacekeeping role in Syria.
Asked by the interviewer whether he meant the Syrian military, he responded, "Yes."
Sisi, who was elected in 2014 almost a year after overthrowing his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi, has cracked down on Islamists and is battling a deadly jihadist insurgency.
His government had been supported by billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia, but ties appear to have cooled between the two countries amid disagreements over Syria.
Saudi Arabia backs rebels trying to oust Assad, while Russia and Iran are supporting him militarily.
Saudi Arabia suspended oil shipments to Egypt in October, a move announced after Cairo backed a Russian-drafted resolution on Syria in the UN Security Council, angering Riyadh.
Before that, Cairo's cash-strapped government and Riyadh reached a deal according to which the two strategic Red Sea islands of Sanafir and Tiran would be transferred to Saudi control. The deal provoked angry protests by Egyptians, who saw the agreement as a blow to national sovereignty, and was later struck down by an Egyptian court. (Read More)
