Israel's Barak: Up to Egyptian people to find its way

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday it was up to the Egyptian people to find its way ahead according to the country's constitution.

Speaking to reporters after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Barak was responding to a question about Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's plan to remain in office while delegating powers to his vice president.

"It's up to the Egyptian people to find their way and to do it according to their own constitution, norms and practices," he said.

He declined to comment further but said he was not pessimistic about prospects for the Middle East peace process, despite the turmoil in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world.

"I am still optimistic," Barak said. "In spite of all the turbulence around us, we should look for opportunities within those difficulties rather than to spiral into a sense of too heavy uncertainty that paralyzes us from acting toward a better and more stable region."