Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Badr Abdel Aaty affirmed Egypt's sovereignty over the disputed Halayeb and Shalateen terroritories in a phone call with the privately-owned Al-Qahera Al-Youm TV channel on Wednesday.
“Halayeb and Shalateen have been historically part of Egyptian land,” adding that “tackling the issue either in Egyptian or Sudanese media targets disturbing relations between the two countries only.”
Abdel Aaty said “the claims over Halayeb being among Sudanese electoral constituencies only mean to create strife between Egypt and Sudan.”
“Egypt has complete sovereignty over Egyptian lands,” he stressed.
According to Sudan Tribune, the Sudan’s National Elections Commission (NEC) announced on Sunday its intention to finalize the delineation of geographical constituencies for the 2015 elections by mid-September and revealed that the contested Abyei and Halayeb regions will be included.
Each of Egypt and Sudan have been claiming Halayeb and Shalateen belong to them since the 1950s. Both are currently under Egyptian control.
Occasional official statements by both countries have asserted claims over the region.
Edited translation from MENA
