Egypt has assured the United States that it does not plan to use a military exercise scheduled for next month to increase its military presence in the Sinai Peninsula, reported Middle East Newsline (MENL).
Egypt had reportedly planned to flex its military muscles in the face of ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinians and Arab countries, including Egypt itself, as well as Syria and Lebanon.
The government of President Hosni Mubarak reportedly relayed this message to the United States.
Mubarak sent a delegation headed by his adviser, Osama Al Baz, for three days of talks with senior Bush administration officials.
Baz himself has been quoted in reports as saying that Syria “would not be alone” if Israel made any military moves against it.
According to MENL, Baz said Egypt did not plan to use the September exercise by the Third Army near the Suez Canal for an incursion into Sinai to help the Palestinians. The adviser said the Palestinian Authority had never issued such a request.
"[Neither] the Palestinian leadership nor any other Palestinian parties [have asked] us to send any force," Baz said.
However, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Minister of International Cooperation Nabil Shaath have reportedly asked Egypt and the Arab states to include the PA in their joint defense pact and work to protect the Palestinians, especially amid reports of an Israeli plan to wipe out their leadership and re-occupy the self-ruled territories.
At the same time, Mubarak's adviser warned that the current Israeli-Palestinian war, now going on its 11th month, could continue. "The continuation of the present situation is untenable," Baz said. "We cannot live with it. The US cannot live with it. The two parties immediately concerned cannot live with this either."
Another member of the Egyptian delegation, Egypt's ambassador to the United States Nabil Fahmi, also denied reports that Cairo was threatening to send troops to the Sinai, most of which has been demilitarized since the 1979 peace treaty with Israel, said the news service – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
