JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia said on Monday that Arab and Islamic countries will step in to help Egypt if Western nations cut aid packages to Cairo over a crackdown on extremists.
“To those who have announced they are cutting their aid to Egypt, or threatening to do that, (we say that) Arab and Muslim nations are rich... and will not hesitate to help Egypt,” Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Prince Saud was speaking upon his return from France, where he held talks with President Francois Hollande, who strongly condemned violence in Egypt.
"I assure everyone that the leadership, the government and the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have stood and will always stand with Egypt and that the Arab states will not never accept manipulation of their fates or tampering with their security and stability by the international community," Prince Saud said.
"Our fate is one and our goal is one. As you enjoy security, calm and stability, do not consider them as too much for us," he added.
He lamented that some countries choose to fault Egypt's interim government for taking action to restore security by cracking down on terrorism, yet refuse to take concrete steps to help stop the carnage in Syria.
"We see unfortunately today international positions which have taken a strange course to ignore these irrefutable facts and focus on general principles as if they want to cover up what these opponents committing of the crimes, the burning of Egypt, and killing of its safe people, and even to encourage these parties to persist in such practices.
"Where is the concern for human rights and the sanctity of blood and carnage that takes place every day in Syria ...? he asked.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal stressed that if these attitudes continue, Saudi Arabia and the Arab and Muslim world will not forget that.
"All countries that take such negative attitudes toward Egypt should know that the blaze and ruin will not be limited to Egypt alone, but they will be reflected on all those who have contributed or stood by problems and disorders taking place in Egypt today," he said.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the North African country since security forces began a clampdown on Muslim Brotherhood protests last week.
US Senator John McCain called on Washington to suspend its $1.3 billion in annual aid to Egypt’s military after it overthrew Islamist president Muhammad Mursi on July 3.
But some US lawmakers have expressed concern that cutting off aid could endanger the peace treaty with Israel or compromise US privileges with regard to the Suez Canal.
Foreign ministers of the European Union are to hold emergency talks on Wednesday to review the bloc’s relations with Cairo.
At stake is nearly five billion euros ($6.7 billion) in loans and grants promised by the world’s top aid donor to Egypt for 2012-2013. It includes one billion euros from the EU with the rest from European banks the EIB and EBRD.
• With a report from AFP
