Egypt's Sisi explains decision to give Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia

imgEgypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi addressed the controversy over Egypt’s handing over of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in a meeting with representatives of social, political and media groups, saying that the islands were Saudi according to official documents.
El-Sisi called for the meeting Wednesday following a heated public debate and a wave of controversy following Egypt’s announcement on Friday that the islands of Tiran and Sanafir fell within Saudi maritime borders.
“The controversy was caused by the difference between how a state deals with the issue and how people look at it from an individual perspective,” he said in the televised meeting.
The meeting was attended by the spokespersons of 19 political parties and heads of trade unions, professional ‎syndicates, human rights organisations, the National ‎Council for Women, and a number of high-profile ‎media figures.
“The decision [to acknowledge the Saudi claim] was made based on documents from Egyptian state institutions including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defence and the General Intelligence Service. We also stuck to the 1990 presidential decree that was submitted to the United Nations,” El-Sisi said, referring to several documents that the government has put forward in recent days to back up the Saudi claim.
“Egypt did not give up one of its rights; we gave the land back to its people,” El-Sisi said.
The president defended the timing of the agreement by saying, “had we announced the news about the islands eight months ago, our relationship with Saudi Arabia would have been negatively affected.”
El-Sisi requested that people stop speaking about the issue, adding that the parliament would have its say on the matter.
“Are we going to get into a conflict with Saudi Arabia or are we going to give them their lands?” El-Sisi said.
El-Sisi stressed the importance of redrawing borders to aid in prospecting for natural resources, adding that Egypt was also redrawing its maritime borders with Cyprus and Greece.

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