Egypt denies rift with Saudi, drift toward Iran
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri on Saturday hailed a "special relationship" with Saudi Arabia, denying reports that the two powerful Arab nations had fallen out after Egypt expressed support for the Russian intervention in Syria.
Egypt voted in favor of a Russian-backed UN resolution on Syria in October that excluded calls to stop bombing Aleppo, which Saudi Arabia strongly opposed.
Shukri added that Egypt was not building its relations with Saudi arch rival Iran, with which it has had strained diplomatic ties since the late 1970s, but has said it engages with the Islamic Republic in multilateral forums. Saudi Arabia and some of its Gulf Arab allies have accused Iran of trying to encircle the kingdom by supporting militia groups in the region—a charge that Tehran denies.
