On Sunday, the Italian media highlighted the speech of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, made during his inspection of the Air Force units in the Western Military Region in Sidi Barani, located in the governorate of Marsa Matrouh. In the speech, Sisi confirmed that the Egyptian army is able to defend Egypt’s national security inside and outside the nation’s borders if necessary.
The Italian newspaper “Formiche” said that the Egyptian President issued a strong warning against any attempt by Turkey to intervene in Libya and attack the city of Sirte. For the Italian newspaper, this was a strong message to Turkey that Egypt would intervene militarily to protect its western borders and achieve stability in Libya should Ankara continue its destabilising actions.
The newspaper cited the president’s statements, saying that “any direct interference from the Egyptian state has international legitimacy, whether within the framework of the United Nations Charter regarding the right to self-defense or based on the sole legitimate authority elected by the Libyan people, which is, the House of Representatives (HoR).”
Sisi also stressed that the first objective of the Egyptian intervention is to “protect and secure the western borders of the state with its strategic depth from the threat of terrorist militias and mercenaries. As for the second goal, it will be the fast restoration of security and stability on the Libyan scene as an integral part of the security and stability of Egypt and the Arab national security, and the third is stopping the bloodshed of Libyan brothers in the east and west, by creating the conditions for a ceasefire and preventing any of the parties from overcoming the current conditions.”
“We stand before a milestone established on our borders” Sisi added. “There are direct threats that require solidarity and cooperation not only among us, but also with our brothers from the Libyan people and friendly forces to protect and defend our countries and the capabilities of our peoples from the aggression waged by terrorist armed militias and mercenaries with the full support of forces dependent on military power tools. “
The newspaper also mentioned President Sisi’s announcement on June 6 that Libyan Parliament Speaker Agila Saleh and Commander-in-Chief of the Libyan National Army, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, have agreed on the “Cairo Declaration” initiative to end the conflict in Libya.
The “Cairo Declaration” is an initiative launched by President Sisi, during a press conference in the presence of Saleh and Haftar, that calls for a ceasefire, obligating all foreign parties to remove foreign mercenaries from Libya and leading to the dissolution of the militias.