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Israel to monitor peace treaty with Egypt: Barack

25 June 2012 22:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday said that Israel is closely observing Egypt’s newly elected president and hopes that he will respect peace treaty between the two countries, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Speaking during a Labor party meeting, Barak echoed Prime Minister Netanyahu’s words saying that Israel will "respect the election results in Egypt" that have given the victory to the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Morsi.

However, recent reports quoted Morsi stating that he will review the 1979 peace treaty with Israel.

Referring to these reports, Barak said that Israel will monitor the new Egyptian government to see the developments regarding its position with Israel, The Jerusalem Post reported.

"We expect the new Egyptian leadership to uphold all international agreements including the peace treaty with Israel. It will take time to truly comprehend the Egyptian leadership upheaval," Barak said.

"There are challenges and opportunities," Barak pointed out, also stating that the peace treaty with Egypt is a "bedrock of stability in the Middle East."

On Sunday, after learning that the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate Mohammed Morsi gained victory in Egypt’s first ever democratic elections, Netanyahu issued a statement hoping for continued cooperation between the two countries.

"Israel looks forward to continuing cooperation with the Egyptian government on the basis of the peace treaty between the two countries, which is a joint interest of both peoples and contributes to regional stability," a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office read a short while after the election results became public.

"Israel appreciates the democratic process in Egypt and respects the results of the presidential elections," the statement also read.

However, other government members were more cautious about the outcome of the elections.

Opposition leader Shelly Yehimovich, from the Labor Party, welcomed the result and said that "Despite the complexity entailed in it, we must conduct a dialogue with whoever is elected to lead Egypt."

Since the beginning of Egypt’s revolution in January 2011, which led to the ousting of former president Hosni Mubarak, Israel has maintained a low profile regarding Egyptian politics, for fear that any comment could endanger the peace treaty signed in 1979.