Egypt seeks assertive role, worries about Nile dam

{{Egypt’s new military-backed cabinet made clear on Saturday it wanted to play an assertive role in regional politics, urging Ethiopia to attend talks over a dam on the Nile and stressing it sought change in Syria.}}

“Egypt’s leadership is inevitable,” said Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy, a member of an interim government sworn into office just four days ago following the ousting of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3.

Fahmy, a former Egyptian ambassador to the United States, put forward a similar array of priorities to Mursi, albeit with a different tone, stressing that the ongoing domestic upheavals would not undermine Egypt’s international clout.

“I seek to activate Egypt’s international role, especially on issues related to national security and regain Egypt’s Arab and regional status,” he said.

Under Mursi, Egypt took an increasingly strident stance against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is battling rebel forces seeking to oust him from power.

Mursi said last month that he backed a no-fly zone over Syria and had cut all diplomatic ties with Damascus. Fahmy told reporters this decision was under review, but said the interim cabinet still wanted change in Syria.

“We support the Syrian people and their aspirations for freedom,” he said, adding that he would meet Ahmad Jarba, the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, on Sunday.

However, Fahmy firmly distanced himself from Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which last month joined a call by Sunni clerics for a jihad, or holy war, against Assad and his Shi’ite allies.

“There are no intentions for jihad in Syria,” he said.

{agencies}