Interim President Adly Mansour said that the security of Gulf area is one of Egypt's national security priorities, and that Egypt was fighting the war on terrorism on behalf of the Middle East region. In an interview which was published on Friday in Kuwait Al-Rai newspaper, Mansour said that life in Egypt would not stop because of "desperate terrorist attacks". "Egypt is in a war against terrorism on behalf of the whole region," he was quoted as saying. Since the ouster of president Mohamed Morsi last July, Egyptian security forces have been targeted by militant attacks that have left hundreds dead. The interim president said that Egypt was going to call on Arab countries to activate the Arab counter-terrorism agreement at the upcoming Arab summit, which is to be held on 25 March in Kuwait. Countries that sign the agreement commit to not allowing their territory be used for planning or committing terrorist acts, and to block the funding or training of terrorist groups. Addressing the presidential election, Mansour said that the presidential elections committee was going to declare the date within the next few days. Answering a question about the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam, currently under construction on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, Mansour said the project was a "great challenge." "The problem of the Renaissance Dam is that some countries want to have big projects without consultation. This is a dangerous matter as they neglect the interest of other countries like Egypt," he said. On 1 March, the Ethiopian government announced that 32 percent of construction had been completed, ignoring Egyptian pleas to halt the project until an agreement is struck between the two countries. The president also stressed that Egypt was standing with the Syrian people in their daily suffering as well their aspiration towards change, freedom and democracy. "There will be no military solution to the Syrian crisis and as long as both sides think that they are capable ... more destruction will be caused," he said. Discussing relations with the Palestinians, the interim president said Egypt was supporting Mahmoud Abbas in his quest for an independent Palestinian state. "The Hamas movement made mistakes supporting a political group regarded by the Egyptian people as terrorists," he said, a reference to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood which was declared a terrorist organisation by the Egyptian government in December. Mansour added that the Palestinain Islamic movement in Gaza should "stop interfering" in Egyptian internal affairs and should respect the choices of Egyptian people. A Cairo court temporarily suspended Hamas' activities in Egypt in March and ordered the closure of its headquarters in the country following lawsuit that accused the Palestinian movement's leaders of being involved in violence in Egypt since the 25 January revolution. Mansour received a delegation of Kuwaiti journalists on Thursday at the presidential palace in Cairo. Source : Ahram online
