(Reuters) Stephen Adler and Richard Mably - Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the general who is set to become Egypt's next head of state, in an interview called on the U.S. to help fight jihadi terrorism. Sisi called for the resumption of U.S. military aid, worth $1.3 billion a year, which was partially frozen after a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. "The Egyptian army is undertaking major operations in the Sinai so it is not transformed into a base for terrorism that will threaten its neighbors and make Egypt unstable. If Egypt is unstable then the entire region is unstable," he said. "We need American support to fight terrorism, we need American equipment to use to combat terrorism." Regarding the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, he said, "We respected it and we will respect it. The Israeli people know this....The question of whether we would be committed to the peace treaty is over with." As for Washington's aspiration to usher in democracy to Egypt, Sisi said, "You want to create democracy in many countries. This is a good thing but it won't succeed in the way it is needed except through good economic support and proper support for education."
2014-05-16 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive