Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have sent messages of congratulations to new interim President Adli Mansour as well as offers of support for the new Egypt. No message has come from Qatar, the biggest ally of the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohamed Morsi. In response to events in Cairo, Qatari authorities step up police protection around the Egyptian embassy.

Cairo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Gulf States welcomed President Mohamed Morsi's ouster following days of mass unrest that began last Sunday. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have sent messages of congratulations last night for the new interim president Adli Mansour, chief justice of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court in Egypt. As Mohamed Morsi's first supporter and master strategist for the Muslim Brotherhood's election victory in 2012 and 2012, Qatar is nowhere to be seen. However, in response to Egypt's changes, Qatari authorities have deployed several armoured vehicles around the Egyptian in Doha.

The first to congratulate the new head of state was Saudi King Abdullah. "In the name of the people of Saudi Arabia and on my behalf, we congratulate your leadership of Egypt in this critical period of its history," Saudi state news agency SPA quoted King Abdullah as saying.

The government of the United Arab Emirates also welcomed Mohamed Morsi's fall. "His Highness Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, the Foreign Minister of the UAE, expressed his full confidence that the great people of Egypt are able to cross these difficult moments that Egypt is going through," news agency WAM said in a statement.

In recent months, both countries have had been at odds several with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-led government.

While Gulf monarchies were overjoyed by the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Qatar has not yet issued a statement.

Just a few days ago, the emirate went through a mysterious succession with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani handing power over to his son Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

Many analysts have expressed doubts about the monarch's choice, who, unlike his predecessors, stepped down at the age of 60 rather than rule until his death.

In recent years, Hamad bin Khalifa was the biggest supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East and North Africa.

He put at least US$ 40 billion Egypt, and funded the election campaign of Mohamed Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party after the fall of Mubarak.

Qatar recently acquired a 100 per cent stake in Egypt's NSGB Bank, one of the largest in the country and spent millions of dollars for the upkeep of Egypt's pipelines.

In January, Egyptian Islamist former Attorney General Talaat Abdallah travelled to Doha to work with Qatar's justice minister on Sharia-based laws.

 

• egypt
• gulf
• states
• qatar
• saudi
• arabia
• political
• crisis
• coup