Bahrain backs Egypt’s right to defend western borders against terrorists: Ministry

CAIRO – 21 June 2020: Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs early on Sunday voiced support to the Egyptian political leadership’s stance on Libya, including the right to defend the Egyptian national security through securing the western borders, Bahrain News Agency reported.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Saturday checked on the forces in Egypt’s Western Military Zone and said that the Air Force, the Special Forces, and the Border Guards have been securing 1,200 kilometers of borders with Libya for seven years, and accomplishing missions that have not been disclosed. Sisi urged them to "be ready to accomplish any mission whether here within our borders or - if needed – beyond our borders."

In a statement, the Bahraini Foreign Ministry said it appreciates and supports Sisi’s remarks on Libya, which affirmed Egypt’s keenness and determination to secure its western borders, including strategic depth, against threats of “terrorist militias and mercenaries” and the urgent need to back security and stability in Libya as an integral part of stability in Egypt and the Arab nations and a way to prevent bloodshed among Libyan people.

The ministry described Sisi’s Saturday remarks as a “message of great indication and clarity to everyone intending to harm Egypt’s security and Arab national security.”

It also hailed the Egyptian leadership’s “great wisdom and sincere intentions on the ongoing conflict in Libya, represented in launching the initiative of Cairo Declaration, to achieve the aspirations and ambitions of the Libyan people”.

UAE’s Foreign Ministry has earlier voiced support to Egypt’s stance on Libya and hailed Egypt’s efforts to reach a comprehensive political settlement in Libya, including the Cairo initiative, which the ministry described as “consistent with all relevant international resolutions”.

Also, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry affirmed its support to Egypt in “its right to defend its borders and people against acts of extremism and terrorist militias and their supporters” in Libya.