Sisi says cannot relinquish Egyptian land amid controversy over Saudi deal

CAIRO- 20 June 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi on Tuesday said he cannot relinquish any Egyptian land, following outcry over the parliament’s approval of a maritime demarcation deal between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, which places two Red Sea islands in the Saudi waters.

"Nations cannot be sold or bought, and countries should be governed by law,” Sisi said during an Iftar of the Egyptian family.

"You have entrusted me to this country and I will be held accountable not only by you but after all before the God," he added.

The president stressed that those who oppose the deal have the right to express their opinions.

Sisi asserted that he did not agree to some opinions to postpone debating the deal until after the upcoming presidential elections.

He called on Egyptians not to designate each other as traitors. “We are in a mission to rescue a nation and the danger still exists,” he added.