Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak transferred "all of his power" to Vice President Omar Suleiman, making him the "de facto" leader of the country, the Egyptian ambassador in Washington said in an interview with CNN.
Mubarak "has transferred his authority to the vice president to undertake all presidential authority that is incorporated in the constitution," the ambassador, Sameh Shoukry, said Thursday.
"The vice president is the de facto president," he said, dpa reported.
Shoukry said he had spoken with Suleiman and received clarification following Mubarak's speech, in which he said power had been transferred to the vice president. But there was some confusion about how much authority Mubarak would retain.
When pressed by CNN's Wolf Blitzer about whether Mubarak no longer had power, Shoukry replied: "That is certainly an interpretation you can make."