Breaking News Russia: US hardly supports democratic aspirations of Egyptian people - Primakov

US hardly supports democratic aspirations of Egyptian people - Primakov

In an exclusive interview with the Voice of Russia Yevgeny Primakov, the former Russian Prime Minister and foreign minister (1996-1999) and a well-known expert in the Middle Eastern studies, talks about the current developments in the Arabian peninsula, President Morsi, and the controversy surrounding the US support of Middle Eastern regimes. Here are the highlights of the interview which will be published in full tomorrow at 7:45 pm Moscow time (4:45 pm GMT). Stay tuned.
I do not share the widely-spread opinion that at the very beginning of the “Arab Spring” the US leadership and other Western politicians felt euphoria on that score. The point is that the “Arab Spring” has led to the overthrow of a number of authoritarian regimes, supported by the USA and its allies. However, as a result of the “Arab Spring” the situation started undergoing changes. It became most evident in Egypt, where the Muslim Brotherhood took the helm. This group was not the initiator of revolutionary changes in the country. But being the most organized force of all, the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the victory over the overthrown regime.
After coming to power in the country, the new Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood, started moving from a secular style of government. This sliding was accompanied by an excessive broadening of presidential functions, which had a bad impact on the worsening economic situation. The large-scale dissatisfaction of the people in Egypt, which developed into the demands for the resignation of their President shows that although the majority of the Egyptian population adheres to Islam, this does not mean that there is an approval for the Islamization of Egypt. I believe that the army, which, as Morsi thought, he had managed to move aside from the political arena, will play its role in the events in the country.
Judging by media reports, the USA is trying to control the crisis by involving the three sides – President Morsi, protesters and the army. And still, as it appears, the USA has concentrated almost all its pressure on the army. The Americans have threatened that in case of a military coup the financial aid of 1.3 billion dollars, offered to the army annually, will be immediately brought to a halt. Meanwhile, these threats were uttered exactly at the moment when the army said that it would not fight against the Egyptian people and that it was demanding to find a peaceful way out of the situation. And there is no proof that the army’s demand and its mission for the settlement of the situation in Egypt will take the form of a military coup. Meanwhile, the Americans presented an ultimatum to the Egyptian army exactly at the moment when many people believe that the army is the only force today that can prevent bloodshed.
As is known, the USA has come into contact with the Muslim Brotherhood – the former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mentioned that. Hence, the question arises whether today’s stand of the USA is aimed at supporting the democratic aspirations of the people in Egypt, which are acquiring the form of a mass movement of protest against the Muslim Brotherhood. I don’t think so.
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