Morsi set to skip Non-Aligned Movement conference in Iran

Iran’s position on Syria puts pressure on Egyptian president to stay away, says London paper

By Yoel Goldman and Gabe Fisher August 3, 2012, 10:54 am 1

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi (photo credit: AP/Maya Alleruzzo)

London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat reported on Friday that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi will not attend this month’s summit of Non-Aligned Movement countries in Iran.

A source close to the president’s office said Morsi will send newly-appointed Prime Minister Hesham Kandil or Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr to represent him at the meeting.

The decision to keep Morsi away from the summit and Iran’s leaders, according to the source, was due to pressure exerted on the president in light of the Islamic Republic’s policy of supporting the Bashar Assad regime in Syria.

It was unclear from the report who exactly was exerting pressure on the Egyptian president.

The Tehran Times reported on Thursday that the Iranian vice president for executive affairs would travel as a special envoy to Egypt to personally invite Morsi to attend the summit.

According to documents obtained by Western diplomatic sources, at the summit Iran intends to press for a resolution that would recognize the right of developing countries to pursue nuclear power and to enrich uranium, beyond limits and accountability imposed on signatories of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

If such a resolution were to pass, it is likely that Iran would use it to emphasize its right to enrich uranium in opposition to the West.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry directed Israeli embassies to encourage their host countries not to attend or only send low-level representatives to the meeting.

The Non-Aligned Movement was formed in 1961 as a platform for third-world and developing countries who did not want to be beholden to the major Cold War powers, the US and the USSR. It currently has 120 member states and 21 states with observer status, encompassing nearly all African, South American and Asian countries.

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