Egypt backs treaty with Israel

UNITED NATIONS - Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that his country will always respect its landmark peace treaty with Israel and is seeking ways to strengthen its "strategic relationship" with the United States.

Mohamed Amr's comments in an interview with The Associated Press come at a time of mounting concern about deteriorating Israeli-Egyptian relations and Washington's diminished influence on the Cairo government following the ouster of long-time president Hosni Mubarak in February.

Amr appeared to backpedal on comments last week by Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, who said the 1979 treaty with Israel was not "sacred" and may be open to revisions in the future. His remarks triggered alarm bells in Israel, which saw its embassy in Cairo ransacked by rioters earlier this month following protests over the killing of six Egyptian border guards by Israeli soldiers pursuing Palestinians who had infiltrated and killed eight Israelis.