Protesters shouted “People want to try Morsi” and “People want to dissolve the MB”. “These slogans reflect genuine anger and rejection to the Muslim Brotherhood and all what it represents,” said a protester who described himself as a “simple Egyptian citizen”. These types of slogans and the number of people who took to the streets is clear proof that a majority of Egyptians are against the MB. It also provides a clear justification for many countries to welcome the trajectory of the revolution that ended by ousting Mohamed Morsi and drawing a roadmap to the transitional period. Perhaps the Gulf reaction was the most welcoming given the importance and proximity of Egypt to that region. On Thursday the UAE and Saudi Arabia expressed support for the removal of Mohamed Morsi as Egypt's president. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, president of the UAE, congratulated Egypt's interim president Adli Mansour after he was sworn in, describing Morsi's replacement as a sign of “national consensus” in a “sisterly country”. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah also praised the military and congratulated Mansour for “assuming the leadership of Egypt at this critical point in its history”. Egypt's relations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been strained since the Freedom and Justice Party — the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood — came to power. Both states now expect ties to strengthen with the new transitional government of Egypt. Qatar, which has poured $5 billion into Egypt's economy since 2011 and was widely regarded as a key Morsi ally said it supported the will of the Egyptian people and continues to view Egypt as a leader in the Arab and Islamic world. Oman welcomed the recent changes in Egypt. Sultan Qabbous sent a telegram to President Mansour earlier this week expressing his support for stability and progress. Moscow, long skeptical about Islamist rule in Egypt, welcomed the ouster of Morsi. In a phone call last Friday with his Egyptian counterpart Mohamed Kamel Amr, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's “unswerving support for the Egyptian people's legitimate aspirations for a better life based on freedom and democracy”. Following the shooting of pro-Morsi demonstrators in front of the Republican Guards headquarters on Monday he expressed hope that the transition period would pass peacefully and Russian-Egyptian relations grow stronger. Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the clashes in stronger terms, warning that Egypt could slide into civil war. The European Union also condemned the shootings before the Republican Guard, issuing a statement that billions of euros in aid pledged to Egypt remained “under constant review”. “We are doing all that we can through talking to everyone on the ground to make sure everyone understands the need for peace to be maintained,” Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said at a routine press briefing. The EU did not condemn last week's military overthrow of Morsi. Instead, EU officials urged Egypt's military-backed government to refrain from bloodshed and to quickly restore democracy. In a statement issued on Thursday Ashton urged all sides to return to the democratic process, “including the holding of free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections and the approval of a constitution, to be done in a fully inclusive manner, so as to permit the country to resume and complete its democratic transition.” “I hope that the new administration will be fully inclusive and reiterate the importance of ensuring full respect for fundamental rights, freedoms and the rule of law,” added Ashton. Hours after Morsi was toppled UK Prime Minister David Cameron called for democracy to be allowed to flourish in Egypt. “We never support intervention by the military,” said Cameron. “What now needs to happen in Egypt is for democracy to flourish and for a genuine democratic transition to take place and all parties need to be involved in that.” Germany described Morsi's ouster as a “serious setback for democracy”. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the country must return to constitutional order as quickly as possible. “I call on all those responsible in Egypt to act calmly, to meet each other halfway and to seek ways out of this serious crisis together.” Syria hailed Morsi's toppling as the end of political Islam and quickly announced that the Syrian embassy in Cairo would be reopening. In a controversial move last month Morsi cut all ties with Syria. The reaction of Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring revolutions and currently ruled by an Islamist-led government, was characterised by uncertainty. As in Egypt, Tunisia's Islamist rulers have been accused of attempting to monopolise power. Tunisian leaders are watching developments in Egypt with deep concern. The ruling Islamist Al-Nahda Party condemned the Egyptian military's overthrow of Morsi last Thursday, describing it as a blow to democracy. Turkey strongly condemned the massive protests against Morsi and subsequently described his ouster as a coup. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who heads an Islamist party that has faced domestic unrest and street protests, condemned the “coup” as “unacceptable”, insisting that elected governments can only be changed through the ballot box. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas praised Egypt's military on Thursday for toppling Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood, the ideological ally of Abbas's Hamas rivals. By intervening to remove Morsi the Egyptian army had prevented Egypt's “slide towards an unknown fate”, said Abbas. Hamas condemned Morsi's removal. It issued a statement on Sunday calling on Morsi's supporters to be patient and promising that the Brotherhood would return to rule Egypt.
