The comments by Defense Ministry security and diplomacy chief Amos Gilad do not reflect the positions of the security establishment nor do they reflect the positions of Gilad, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Friday.
The statement follows comments made by Gilad earlier in the day at the IDC Herzliya's "Strategic Fridays" event, in which he said that "There is no talking going on between (Israel's) and Egypt's political echelons, and I don't think there will be."
In its statement, the Defense Ministry highlighted the positive aspects of Gilad's lecture, pointing to the fact that Gilad's central themes were the strategic importance of upholding the peace treaty with Egypt and maintaining good bilateral relations between the two countries.
The ministry concluded that Gilad had no netention of interfering with internal Egyptian politics but rather merely was expressing concern over possible upheaval in the Middle East.
In this respect, Gilad had referred to what he described as the radicalization of Egypt following the Muslim Brotherhood's rise to power, saying "a terrible dictatorship sprouted from the desire for democracy (in Egypt)."
He also said that "[Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi] will not speak with us [Israel]."
Nevertheless, Gilad stressed that Israel must preserve the peace treaty with Egypt "at any cost."