Russia calls for ‘restraint’ in Egypt after Morsi ouster

Russia on Thursday called on all of Egypt’s political forces to “exercise restraint” and refrain from violence, following the toppling of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi by the army.

“We consider it important for all political forces in Egypt to exercise restraint… to consider the broad national interests of their actions, and to prove that they strive to solve the brewing political and socio-economic problems in a democratic framework, without violence, and accounting for the interests of all social groups and religious confessions,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“From the beginning of the deep changes in the Middle East we have declared support for lawful aspirations of the Egyptian people for a better life with freedom and democratic renewal. Russia’s position remains invariable and principled,” said the statement, calling Egypt a country with “historical friendly ties” with Moscow.

Russia was guarded following the February 2011 ouster of Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak, and some lawmakers close to the Kremlin have expressed disdain to the “Arab Spring” phenomenon sweeping the region.

“The Arab Spring only led to chaos in Egypt,” head of the Duma lower house of parliament’s international committee Alexei Pushkov wrote on his Twitter feed on Thursday.