Sisi says "evil powers" attempt to ruin, isolate Egypt

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Sunday that "people of evil" are currently attempting to isolate Egypt and ruin its institutions, stressing terrorism seeks to destabilize the most populous Arab country.

"They launch accusations against the Egyptian police and the Egyptian judiciary to ruin them and also try to raise suspicion about the freely-elected parliament," Sisi told reporters in a join press conference with visiting French president Francois Hollande at the presidential palace in Cairo.

"Raising these issues is an attempt to isolate Egypt from its European and Arab spheres," said the Egyptian president, adding that European criteria of human rights should not be applied to countries of a turbulent region including Egypt.

Egypt has been facing a rising wave of terrorism since the military overthrew former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.

"If this state (Egypt) falls, you do not know what will happen to the region and the whole European world," Sisi warned, "You should know that there are powers of evil that work on giving a negative impression about what happens in Egypt."

Hollande arrived in Egypt earlier on Sunday for a two-day visit at Egypt's invitation, which represents support for the Arab country that faces Western concerns over human rights and security conditions.

The French president voiced support for Egypt's war against terrorism, stressing that Egypt's security is key to regional security, which in turn is important for the security of Europe.

Western criticism rose against Egypt over the recent ambiguous death of an Italian researcher in Cairo, which cast shadow on the Italian-Egyptian relations as Italy showed dissatisfaction with the Egyptian probe into the case and recalled its ambassador to Cairo for consultations.

Hollande said he spoke with Sisi in details about human rights and relevant cases, showing understanding that the case of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni's murder is still under investigation.

"Human rights are not a constraint but also a way to fight against terrorism," Hollande told the news conference.

The two leaders said their talks addressed a peaceful resolution for the Syrian crisis, security development in Libya and Yemen as well as the two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Following the news conference, Hollande and Sisi witnessed the signing of several cooperation initial agreements between the two countries in the fields of economy, industry, tourism and culture.

Egypt has already received six Rafale fighter jets and FREMM frigate from France as part of a deal signed in mid-February 2015, which is worth 5.6 billion U.S. dollars and includes handing Egypt 24 Rafale warplanes in total, besides the frigate.

Hollande came to Cairo from Beirut during a regional tour that includes Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. Endit