Saudi denies King Salman's visit to Red Sea islands handed over by Egypt

APD NEWS

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Saudi Arabia on Sunday denied media reports that Saudi king will visit two Red Sea islands just handed over by Egypt.

Earlier media reports said Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud would pay a 12-day visit to the Tiran and Sanafir islands to fly his country's flag on them.

In a statement, Saudi Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Abdel Aziz Qattan described the reports as "baseless," the Egyptian state-run MENA news agency reported.

Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on June 24 ratified a controversial agreement on handing over the two islands to the Saudis, one week after the Egyptian parliament approved it in a general vote.

Some Egyptians are against the transfer of the two islands to Riyadh, insisting that they are Egyptian territories.

Sisi and his administration said the two islands originally belonged to Saudi Arabia, though opponents believe that giving them up will be sacrificing national soil for temporary interests.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)