BICOM

The spokesman for Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi yesterday denied reports that Mursi had sent a letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres.

“Everything that was reported in the Israeli media regarding the letter does not correspond to reality,” said Yasser Ali in a statement.

Despite the Egyptian denial, an unnamed official from Peres’s office has said to Reuters that the letter was authentic. “It was received by the Egyptian ambassador and handed over (to Peres’s office). The denial was to be expected, given the letter’s high publicity in Israeli and Egyptian media,” the official said, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Peres’s office have distributed a copy of the letter to media, as well as a copy of an Egyptian embassy message sent along with it.

The letter, which was written in English and dated 15 July, came as a response to a message sent by Peres a month ago, in which Israel’s President congratulated Mursi for his victory in the elections, and offered his blessing ahead of the month of Ramadan.

In response, Mursi thanked Peres and said, “I am looking forward to exerting our best efforts to get the Middle East peace process back to its right track in order to achieve security and stability for all peoples of the region, including [the] Israeli people.”

Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a message to Mursi congratulating him on winning the Egyptian election. The letter was the first official message from Israel to a representative of the Muslim Brotherhood, which won both the parliamentary elections and the presidential elections in Egypt.

Since his victory, Mursi and his aides have stressed to US and European officials that they intend to respect all international treaties which Egypt has signed, including its peace treaty with Israel.