Egypt's Sisi 'ready to play any role' in Middle East talks

Egypt's presidential frontrunner Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Thursday that he is ready to help revive Israeli-Palestinian talks, stressing that Cairo is committed to its peace treaty with Israel.

In an interview with Reuters, he said relations between Egypt and Israel have been stable for more than 30 years.

"We respected it [the peace treaty] and we will respect it. The Israeli people know this ... The question of whether we would be committed to the peace treaty is over with," said Sisi, who is expected to easily win the May 26-27 election.  

"We need to see a Palestinian state. We need to move on peace, which has been frozen for many years. There will be a real chance for peace in the region. We are ready to play any role that will achieve peace and security in the region," Sisi added.

High-level Israeli sources on Saturday welcomed a previous commitment by Sisi to uphold a peace treaty with Israel.

The sources voiced hope that the peace deal between Israel and Egypt will expand to cover economic and civilian fields should Sisi is elected Egypt's president.

The Israeli sources also welcomed the destruction of underground tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.

Call for US military help

The former army chief, who ousted Egypt's first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi in July, called for the resumption of US military aid, which is worth 1.3 billion US dollars a year, to fight "terrorism."

"We need American support to fight terrorism, we need American equipment to use to combat terrorism," he said.

He also warned that without US military help, the militancy in the Sinai Peninsula could destabilise the whole region.

"The Egyptian army is undertaking major operations in Sinai so it is not transformed into a base for terrorism that will threaten its neighbours and make Egypt unstable. If Egypt is unstable then the entire region is unstable," he said.

"The West has to pay attention to what's going on in the world – the map of extremism and its expansion. This map will reach you inevitably," he added.

Regarding Libya, Sisi said the West did not finish its job there and left the country awash with weapons, adding that it has become a major security threat to Egypt.

He also expressed fear from rebels fighting President Bashar Assad in Syria, but added that Syrian unity must be maintained.

"I don't think you want to create another Afghanistan in the region," he warned.

Domestic troubles

Sisi denied his army's overthrow of Morsi was a military coup, claiming that it intervened on behalf of "the people".

But he acknowledged that it would prove very difficult to improve the situation in Egypt anytime soon.

"The truth is one hundred days is not enough. The challenges present in Egypt are so many. I believe that within two years of serious, continuous work we can achieve the type of improvement Egyptians are looking for," he said.

"We have to admit that the economic situation in Egypt is difficult, and not just over the last three years. Egyptians were aspiring to a more stable life than the reality we are living in. More than 50 percent of the Egyptian people suffer from poverty. There is a lot of unemployment," he added.

He urged more American economic help, should the United States want to see democracy in Egypt.

"You want to create democracy in many countries. This is a good thing but it won't succeed in the way it is needed except through good economic support and proper support for education," Sisi said.