MOSCOW

Egypt is the hardest hit by the ongoing escalation in the Red Sea, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Monday.

Speaking at a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Abdelatty said Egypt incurs monthly losses due to reduced Suez Canal revenue as a result of the current tensions in the Red Sea.

“We are all harmed by this unjustified escalation and tension that affect the freedom of international navigation in the Red Sea,” he said.

“Egypt is naturally the country hardest hit by this dangerous escalation. We are harmed every month by the severe decline in Suez Canal revenue as a result of this escalation.”

The top Egyptian diplomat said halting Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip is the key to ending the current tension in the Red Sea.

The Suez Canal is a main source of foreign currency for Egypt. The international waterway generated $7.2 billion in revenue in the fiscal year 2023/24, down from $9.4 billion a year earlier.

Tension has escalated in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group on ships that are Israeli-owned, flagged, operated, or headed to Israeli ports in solidarity with Gaza, where more than 41.200 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7 last year following a Hamas attack.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul