Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, expressed support for ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in an interview with the Washington Post published Thursday, praising his leadership of the Arab world, especially his support of the liberation of Kuwait in 1990.
“Anyone from the Gulf will never forget President Hosni Mubarak…[the former president] deserves better,” he said.
Khalifa said Bahrain would not forget Mubarak’s stance against Iran when it tried to claim Bahrain was part of Iran several years ago, adding that the deposed leader was the first to fly to Bahrain in solidarity.
Khalifa said selecting a new president “is a purely Egyptian matter. But when it comes to the treatment of Hosni Mubarak, we feel that he deserves better.”
The foreign minister said several Gulf countries have expressed similar opinions to Egyptians.
“Whatever direction [Egypt] takes, I hope it doesn’t veer from the direction and line drawn by the late president Anwar Sadat,” he said, expressing hope that Egypt would continue to honor its peace treaty with Israel.
“Nothing is clear yet; it could go any way,” he said regarding expectations for Egypt’s future.
Khalifa noted that “if Egypt chooses to take a path of confrontation, then the whole Arab world will be on that path,” adding that “even if we don’t like whoever is in power in Israel’s government, at the end of the day it is a country that will produce reasonable partners that we can work with in the future.”
