Tuesday January 16, 2018
The Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on Monday said his country isn’t conspiring against Sudan and Ethiopia stressing Egypt isn’t planning to go to war against its “brothers”.
Al-Sisi’s statements come amid rising tensions between Egypt on the one hand and Sudan and Ethiopia on the other.
The are several issues between Cairo and Khartoum including Sudan support to the Ethiopian renaissance dam, border dispute over Halayeb triangle and the ban on Egyptian farming products.
The latest tensions have sparked between Sudan and Egypt after the former signed an agreement to temporarily hand over the Red Sea island of Suakin to Turkey.
On 4 January Sudan summoned its ambassador to Egypt for consultation, hours after the head of the Sudanese Border Technical Committee, Abdallah Al-Sadiq, accused Egypt of trying to drag Sudan into a direct military confrontation over Halayeb.
Last week, Sudan closed its border with Eritrea after the deployment of thousands of troops from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters to Kassala State.
On Thursday, Sudan admitted that the deployment of troops along the Eritrean border came as result of military threats from Eritrea and Egypt against the country.
Also, tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia flared up after talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) are stalled over how to deal with the impact of the $5 billion dam that could threaten Egypt’s lifeblood.
According to Reuters, a scheduled visit by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to Cairo on Monday was postponed for the second time.
In televised statements on Monday, al-Sisi said “Egypt will not fight its brothers ... I say these words as a message to our brothers in Sudan”.
“We are not willing to enter into war with our brothers or with anyone ... our peoples deserve every single penny,” he added.
“I say this to our brothers in Sudan and Ethiopia: Egypt doesn’t conspire. We don’t conspire, neither do we meddle in the internal affairs of anyone and we are very, very keen to have a very good relationship,” he further said.
The Egyptian President stressed the ultimate goal of his government is to construct and develop Egypt, saying they wouldn’t carry out any other objectives.
He further warned the Egyptian media against attacking Sudan.
“I hope the Egyptian media doesn’t use offensive language against Sudan or any other country no matter how much anger or pain they feel towards that country,” he said.