Cairo, Egypt (CNN) — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Thursday blamed the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood for the violence unfolding in Cairo and said he would like to step down right away, but cannot because he does not want to risk plunging his nation into chaos, ABC News reported.

Mubarak told ABC correspondent Christiane Amanpour that he was troubled by the bloody clashes that broke out Wednesday in Tahrir Square, the center of anti-government demonstrations.

As the United States and other countries condemned increasing attacks on journalists and diplomats, Mubarak rejected the notion that government instigated the violence in the country, instead blaming the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist umbrella group that is banned in Egypt.

“I don’t care what people say about me,” Mubarak told ABC. “Right now I care about my country, I care about Egypt.