Egypt's Shoukry Says U.S. Can’t Disengage from Middle East

On Wednesday, the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry said that the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq has burdened the region quite substantially over the years. The departure of course from Afghanistan has its ramifications and will be followed and deliberated upon within the context of the Arab region.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Shoukry added "Tomorrow we have a meeting of the ministerial Arab League and that issue will come will be the focus of discussions between the ministers. Undoubtedly a transformation of this nature and this magnitude will have interesting repercussions."

"We wait to see what those repercussions are in terms of how the new Taliban government will operate how it will sustain the commitments that it has made and how we can have security and the stability of the region within the newly existing situation," he noted.

The Egyptian top diplomat pointed out that the United States as a superpower as a power with both interests and very deep relationships with the countries of the Middle East is in a position or can disengage.

"Egypt is seeking ways to restore ties with Turkey and has no interest in armed conflict with Ethiopia over a controversial Nile dam," Shoukry said.

Discussing Turkey, Shoukry said Egypt is “eager to find a resolution” and a formula for restoring normal relations with Ankara, but more work needs to be done. When Egypt is “satisfied” that outstanding issues have been resolved, the door will be open for further progress.

Relations between the regional powers have soured over Turkey’s support for Islamists and spiraled downward with the 2013 military ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi amid widespread anti-government street protests.

Tensions escalated further when Turkey supported the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli, while Egypt backed a rival led by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

On tensions with Ethiopia over its filling and operating of a controversial Nile dam, Shoukry said Egypt was committed to talks and keen to avoid any military conflict. Egyptian officials have previously said that all options are open.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has stressed that access to water was a national security matter for his country and constituted a “red line” that can’t be crossed.

Egypt and Sudan are concerned that the Ethiopian dam will curb supplies to the Nile River, on which they rely for the majority of their water needs.

Ethiopian Water, Irrigation & Energy Minister Seleshi Bekele echoed Shoukry’s comments and urged Egypt to return to talks about the disputed reservoir.