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Reports on Sharon's Anti-Egyptian Remarks "Untrue": Mubarak
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak dismissed as "untrue" reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon had urged Washington to end military aid to Egypt during his last week's visit to the U.S.
Egypt has been assured that Sharon did not issue such a call in his remarks to US congressmen, Mubarak was quoted as saying by the official Arabic-language daily Al-Gumhuria on Monday.
"Relations between Egypt and the United States are between sovereign states and no one has the right to interfere in them," he warned.
Mubarak lauded as "strong and deeply-rooted" Cairo-Washington ties. "I do not claim that we share fully identical views on all issues. But there is common ground which is enough to constantly develop our ties," he said.
The Egyptian leader made the remarks in response to a report by Israeli army radio last Wednesday claiming that Sharon had asked US congressional leaders to stop U.S. military aid to Egypt, which he accused of having a negative influence on the Middle East peace process.
The reports have been dismissed by Israeli prime minister's office as "incorrect."
Mubarak said he would seek stronger economic cooperation between Egypt and the US with an emphasis on attracting more US investment and high technology to Egypt during his upcoming trip to Washington in early April.
The US provides Egypt, one of its closest allies in the Middle East, with an annual 1.3 billion US dollars of military aid. Washington, meanwhile, offers 1.92 billion dollars of military aid to Israel every year.
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