United States Secretary of State John Kerry met in Cairo on Wednesday with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a day after the Egyptian leader called for a renewal of the Middle East peace process.
Even before Sisi raised the issue, Kerry had planned a visit to discuss the Libya and Syria crises and to raise concerns about Egypt’s harsh crackdown on dissent, and those issues were discussed in the meeting, according to AFP.
But Kerry was also keen to hear more from the Egyptian leader about how he intends to help broker peace between his Israeli and Palestinian neighbors.
“He’s interested in hearing a bit more directly from the president about what role he has in mind,” a senior U.S. official told reporters before the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“The Secretary expressed his appreciation for the president’s recent statement of strong support for advancing Arab-Israeli peace,” State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said afterwards, without providing details.
On Tuesday, in a televised speech, Sisi urged Israelis and Palestinians to seize what he said was a “real opportunity” and hailed his own country’s peace deal with Israel.
The comments were welcomed by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who stressed that “Israel is ready to participate with Egypt and other Arab states in advancing both the diplomatic process and stability in the region.”
Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman welcomed SIsi’s call as well, saying he welcomed the Egyptian president’s efforts to achieve peace and establish a Palestinian state.
Arab League deputy secretary general Ahmed Ben Helli on Wednesday welcomed Sisi’s offer to mediate between Palestinian factions for a speedy reconciliation to pave the way to revive the peace process.
Washington believes the only way to end the conflict between Israel and the PA is a negotiated settlement resulting in two states side-by-side within recognized borders.
But it also does not believe the time is yet ripe to resume direct dialogue, preferring instead to lobby both to make confidence-building measures to reduce violence and calm tensions.
“We’ve said repeatedly that we believe negotiations are the only way to solve the problem. We’ve also said that we’re not ourselves trying to resume negotiations at this point,” the U.S. official said.
“The secretary is very interested in hearing some more about the details of what President Sisi has in mind,” he added.
“I think we’ve also made very clear our concerns about some of the steps that have been taken on the ground that call into question the viability of a two-state solution,” the official said, adding, “That will also be part of our discussion here.”
