Russia: Israel could attack Egypt if destabilisation continues - Putin

Russia: Israel could attack Egypt if destabilisation continues - Putin

Russian president Vladimir Putin weighed in Friday on the political instability in Egypt, saying there is a real risk of the country becoming destabilised and creating an environment which could prompt neighbouring Israel to launch military strikes. The President's comments came during the G20 summit currently taking place in St. Petersburg.

"Egypt is a crucial country in the Middle East and the fact that it is currently destabilised is very dangerous, not only for Egypt, but for the whole region," the President said. "If Egypt becomes weak, the situation will become totally unpredictable and nobody knows what it can come to. The military are currently trying to fight terrorist threat which is particularly dangerous in Sinai. You know that there are terrorists in Sinai and this is very dangerous, not just for Israel but even for Egypt itself. Why? Because it gives Israel a legal instrument to guarantee their security. And what will it lead to? Israel will say “We will guarantee our security, so they will launch a military operation there. If this ever happens, it will destabilise this entire region so we hope that Egypt becomes stable and we will do our best to assist with that and we will cooperate with any legitimate government there."

Egypt has been under military rule since the removal of then-President Mohamed Morsi in July.