Egyptian Support for Syria Is Now Loud and Public

One more wedge for the growing Saudi-Egyptian split. Giving an interview to Portuguese TV on his visit there Egyptian dictator Sisi openly backed the Syrian army in its “fight against terrorism”.

Sisi explained the world must see “fundamentalist ideology” as the single greatest threat to it and therefore must support the national army in Libya, as well as in Syria in Iraq. The Portuguese interviewer asked for clarification — by Syria did Sisi mean the Syrian army — the Egyptian leader gave an unequivocal yes.

الرئيس المصري عبد الفتاح السيسي يعلن دعمه للجيش السوري pic.twitter.com/eb5SxEW7g4

— Yusha Yuseef 🇸🇾 (@MIG29_) November 23, 2016

We’ve written about growing contacts between Damascus and Cairo and Egypt increasingly exploring ways to help out the Syrian government before — but this is the first time Egypt has made it clear it is rooting for the anti-Islamist side in Syria publicly.

Moreover this admission took place during a visit to a western country and to western media — which only amplifies its significance. Just a month into first signs of an Egyptian-Saudi split Cairo is already completely unapologetic about its sympathies for Damascus. Things are moving fast indeed.

See the entire interview here (the most important part starts at the 5:20 mark):