Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon repeated his commitment to support “non-violent Egyptian-led approaches” to overcoming the “continuing stalemate in Egypt,” according to a statement released by his spokesperson on Friday.
“The Secretary-General applauds the deep courage and commitment of the Egyptian people during this period in exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in support of their respective visions for moving Egypt forward,” read the statement.
However, he also said it was of “critical importance” that all sides in the political impasse “reconsider their current actions and language,” urging all to “set aside or avoid actions and words likely to be perceived by others as provocative.”
Instead, the secretary-general’s statement said, approaches building towards an inclusive political process should be sought out, involving strategies that were evolving to circumstances and realities.
He called on leaders of the country, from all sides, to do what could be done to prevent further loss of life, pledging the UN’s full engagement in supporting Egypt.
The UN Secretary-General spoke with Vice President of Foreign Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei late last month to discuss the peaceful management of on-going demonstrations supporting ousted president Mohamed Morsi.
Delegations from the United States and European Union departed from Cairo last week. During a Thursday night address interim president Adly Mansour indicated that diplomatic efforts “for giving up violence and bloodshed” did not achieve the hopeful success “despite full support provided by the Egyptian government.”
