CAIRO, June 22 (UPI) -- Egypt's embattled president said in a newspaper interview Saturday he would not step down and would serve out his term, which ends in 2016.
Mohamed Morsi told the state-owned Al-Akhbar he planned to remain in office to ensure any handover of power takes place in accordance to the Egyptian constitution, and warned that some political movements inside and outside Egypt were bent on derailing the nation's fledgling democracy.
"Egypt, as a major country with strong influence in the region, is an obvious target," Morsi said. "In light of the current political situation, the attempts to interfere in our affairs are increasing, but I do not accept that and will work to stand against it."
Morsi said new details on the reputed plots would be made public in the near future. He said the ultimate goal of these pressures was to turn back the clock to an era of "corruption, forging election results, plundering funds and repressing freedoms."
Morsi also faces public pressure to resign from ongoing demonstrations in the streets. Ahram Online said mass protests planned for June 30 and a nationwide petition call for snap elections.
A current sore point among demonstrators is a slate of governorship appointments made by Morsi last week. Ahram Online said critics say Morsi selected too many members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Morsi defended his appointments, particularly the new governor of the tourist city of Luxor, who was linked to a militant group responsible for the 1997 terrorist attack that killed 62 Egyptians and foreign tourists.
