CAIRO — Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will embark on a Gulf tour to push for a political solution as tensions rise between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, his ministry said Saturday.
Shoukry, whose government is closely allied with Saudi Arabia, will carry a message from President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman as well as Jordan during his three-day visit starting Sunday, it said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia has accused Hezbollah and Iran of declaring war against the kingdom, and urged its citizens to leave Lebanon.
Shoukry “will affirm Egypt’s firm position on the need to preserve Arab unity,” the ministry statement said.
He will also “affirm Egypt’s policy ... that pushes for political solutions to crises and the need to spare the region any more turmoil and polarisation.”
Egypt, which has the most powerful Arab army and has depended on Saudi Arabia for aid, has supported the Gulf country against its regional arch-rival, Iran.
In Yemen, Cairo has only backed the coalition with only a few naval vessels. Al Sissi told a press conference on Thursday that Egypt fully supported Gulf countries, whose security he called a “red line.”
But he also urged caution. “I am not for war. We have had our experience with war,” he said.
“The region faces enough turmoil already. We should approach (the tensions) extremely cautiously,” he added.
— AFP
