Egypt's Morsy says he'll review peace treaty with Israel

In interview with Iranian media, Egyptian President-elect says he will not take executive action on Camp David accords without input from gov't; adds he wants to expand bilateral ties with Iran to create "balance" in region.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK, JPOST.COM STAFF
Sadat, Carter, Begin_150 (photo credit: Couretsy the Jimmy Carter Library)
Sadat, Carter, Begin_150
(photo credit: Couretsy the Jimmy Carter Library)
Egyptian President-elect Mohammed Morsy will review his country's peace treaty with Israel, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency quoted him as saying Monday. The interview marks something of a departure from comments he made in his election victory speech, during which the Muslim Brotherhood candidate vowed to "preserve international accords and obligations," in what appeared to be a reference to the peace treaty with Israel. "We will review the issue of Camp David," Morsy said, adding that he would not take executive action but would rather pass recommendations through the government and cabinet. "I will not make any decision alone," he said. "Our policy towards Israel will be one of equality, because we are no less than them in any way," he said. "We will discuss the restoration of Palestinian rights [with the Palestinians], because this is a very important issue." Turning to Iran, Morsy also stated that his administration will look to expand bilateral ties to create a strategic "balance" in the region.
Diplomatic relations between the two countries have been severed for more than 30 years, but both sides have signaled a shift in policy since former president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown last year in a popular uprising.
Fars quoted him as saying he was interested in better relations with Tehran. "This will create a balance of pressure in the region, and this is part of my program."
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 Asked to comment on reports that, if elected, his first state visit would be to Iran's regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia, Morsy said: "I didn't say such a thing and until now my first international visits following my victory in the elections have not been determined."
Morsy defeated former Mubarak prime minister and general Ahmed Shafik in a run-off last weekend by a convincing 3.5 percentage points, or nearly 900,000 votes, taking 51.7 percent of the total, officials said. It ended a week of disputes over the count that had frayed nerves.
Reuters contributed to this report.