British political ambitions

The Nile belonged to Egypt and still does, but an obstacle stood in the way of Egyptian sovereignty. This obstacle was removed due to the Mahdist revolt, with the victory of Egyptian and English soldiers in the Battle of Omdurman.

This is the text of a letter from Boutros Pasha Ghali, Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs, to Lord Cromer, in response to his memorandum regarding the Fashoda crisis, dated October 19, 1898: "His Highness the Khedive's government, as Your Excellency is aware, has never forgotten the return to occupying the Sudan provinces, from which it only withdrew due to circumstances of force majeure. The recapture of Khartoum would be futile if the Nile Valley, for which Egypt has made great sacrifices in the past, were not extended to Egypt. And while the Fashoda issue is currently a subject of discussion between England and France, the Egyptian government instructs me to request Your Excellency's kind mediation with Lord Salisbury so that Egypt's indisputable rights are recognized, and that all territories that were under its troops at the time of the revolt of Muhammad Ahmad are returned to it."