Borrell: Egypt ‘key partner’
Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed
Egypt is and has to be a key partner in efforts for a two-state solution in the Middle East, EU foreign policy chief said on Tuesday.
Josep Borrell, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi held a joint news conference following a meeting in Brussels.
“We appreciate the crucial role played by Egypt, in ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza, on providing health care to medical evacuees, on negotiating the humanitarian pause, and the release of hostages in November,” Borrell said.
He noted that the EU aims to build a “coalition supportive to the relaunch of a political perspective for the two-state solution.”
“And Egypt is and has to be a key partner in this regard,” he said.
“Israel does not have the veto right to the self determination of the Palestinian people,” he added.
Borrell stressed that Egypt is not a “strategic partner” but a “strategic actor” in the peace efforts in the Middle East.
Shoukry, for his part, urged for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza, describing the scale of the loss of life as “unacceptable” and “unprecedented.”
EU commissioner praises Egypt for refugee assistance. “It’s been with us since the Syrian war. And Egypt is a host of a very large refugee community. Something only a few are talking about,” the commissioner added.
Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 25,490 Palestinians and injuring 63,354. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
