Egyptian MP Mustafa Bakri has rejected the criticism made by the US Department of State over Cairo’s dealing with the Syrian regime, against the backdrop of Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s solidarity visit to Damascus.
Bakri described the demands by Congress members to impose sanctions on the countries that normalize ties with Syria as “nauseous” and “a blatant intervention in the region’s affairs”.
The MP stressed that no party has the right to impose its agenda on Egypt, saying “Syria is an Arab country and Egypt is the beating heart of the Arab world”.
“Our position on the Assad regime has not changed. Now is not the time for normalization. Now is not the time to upgrade relations with the Assad regime,” according to US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.
“Again, the statement that I saw from the foreign minister spoke to this as a humanitarian gesture. Our position on this has been longstanding. We do not believe that it is the time to upgrade or to normalize relations with the Assad regime," Price said in a press briefing this week.
"The goal of the visit is primarily humanitarian, and to pass on our solidarity," Shoukry told reporters during his visit to Damascus on Monday.
Shoukry did not respond to reporters' questions on the possibility of normalizing ties with Syria.
Following the Feb. 6 quake, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Syrian President Bashar Assad. Egypt also dispatched rescue teams to Syria.
Moreover, some Egyptian institutions started gathering donations to support the Syrians.
Egypt's parliament speaker Hanafi Jabali was on a visit to Syria a day before Shoukry visited. “Syria will return to its normal position in the Arab League,” he said at the airport.
