[News] Biden offers the help of the US Navy to free the Suez Canal

[SougarLord]

 

The president of the United States has offered his help to unblock the container ship Ever Given, which has been blocking the Suez Canal since last Wednesday. "We have equipment and capabilities that most countries do not have, and we are seeing what kind of help we can offer," Joe Biden told reporters upon his arrival in the state of Delaware on Friday, where he has the private residence of he.

 

The seaway connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, key to world trade, has been blocked by technical or human error. While the causes of the grounding are being resolved, the US Navy has already expressed its willingness to cooperate to free the freighter in that Egyptian area. The US armed forces have a presence on both African coasts and in the Mediterranean, and could move into the canal relatively quickly.

 

Central Command

US Central Command spokesman Captain Bill Urban said in a statement: "We have offered assistance, we are ready to help Egypt, and we can respond to any specific request we receive." The US Central Command is the one with military powers over operations in the Middle East and Egypt, although not in the rest of the African continent.

The White House itself confirmed Friday that it had offered Egypt help to remove the ship and get maritime traffic flowing again. "As part of our diplomatic dialogue with Egypt, we have offered assistance to the Egyptian authorities to help reopen the canal," Presidential spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news conference. "We are consulting with our Egyptian partners on how we can better support their efforts," she added.

 

Relations between Washington and Cairo have been affected by the replacement in the White House. Donald Trump had excellent relations with Egyptian President Abdelfatá al Sisi, whom he used to refer to as his "favorite dictator." The Biden Administration came in promising a greater emphasis on respect for human rights, something that has delayed direct contact between the two leaders and has significantly cooled bilateral relations.