Suleiman: Egypt will maintain peace with Israel

In interview on ABC network, Egyptian VP says country will not violate agreement; says outcome of protests will not resemble Tunisia.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Egypt's Omar Suleiman 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Egypt's Omar Suleiman 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Egypt will uphold the current peace agreement with Israel without violations, Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman said in an interview on the ABC television network Friday.
"Yes we will have a peace agreement," Suleiman said after he was asked whether peace will remain. "We will keep it firmly and not violate it at all.
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When questioned about the conversation held with US President Barack Obama regarding Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, Suleiman said: "My telephone call with [US Secretary of State Hilary] Clinton...We discussed this issue but she didn't ask that President Mubarak step down now. But I told her it was a process, and at the end of it, President Mubarak will leave."
Suleiman explained that the outcome in Egypt would not be similar to that of Tunisia, which resulted in Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to leave the country with his family. He said Mubarak did not intend on leaving Egypt.
"No, Egypt will not be anything like Tunisia," he said. "This is different. You know that our president is a fighter. He lived on this soil and he will die on this soil."
Click here for full Jpost coverage of unrest in Egypt
Click here for full Jpost coverage of unrest in Egypt
Reacting to the clashes between pro-Mubarak supports and anti-government protesters, Suleiman said: "It's a bad thing to see and we've never had this before. Emotionally they went to the streets to express their feelings to our president. And we don't know why they went to Tahrir Square."
"I believe that they are from our society," Suleiman added. "They are not foreigners, but for sure, these people have been supported by foreigners."
Suleiman also told Amanpour that would not run for re-election.