Secretary of State begins Mideast tour
CAIRO — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson flew into Egypt on Sunday at the start of a five-nation tour that coincides with heightened regional tension as well as unease over the Trump administration’s Mideast policies.
His arrival in Cairo came one day after Israel carried out a wave of airstrikes in Syria after intercepting an Iranian drone that had infiltrated its airspace and an Israeli F-16 was downed upon its return from Syria. It was the most serious Israeli engagement in Syria since the war there began in 2011.
In Egypt, as well as in Kuwait, Lebanon and Jordan — the tour’s other Arab stops — Tillerson will almost certainly hear misgivings about President Donald Trump’s recent decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, The move angered Washington’s Arab allies and undermined the chances of a timely resumption of long-stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
U.S. officials agreed on Friday that most of Tillerson’s discussions will likely be difficult, saying those with NATO ally Turkey will probably be especially prickly given Turkish military action against U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in northern Syria and escalating anti-American rhetoric in Ankara. But the officials said diplomacy is necessary to cement anti-IS gains and restore regional stability as the administration presses other nations and private companies to help with post-war reconstruction.
Tillerson meets President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Monday, three days after the Egyptian leader ordered his security forces to launch a major offensive against Islamic militants in the Sinai Peninsula, Nile Delta and Western Desert.
Tillerson will raise human rights issues with el-Sissi, according to the U.S. officials, who previewed the trip on condition they not be named. The timing is sensitive; El-Sissi is seeking a second four-year term in office with no serious competition in the March election. The opposition is calling for a boycott of the vote after serious challengers were either arrested or forced to quit the race.
A general-turned-president, el-Sissi is running against an obscure politician who is among his ardent supporters.
Tillerson travels to Kuwait next to lead the U.S. delegation at two international gatherings — that of the 74 members in the U.S.-led, anti-Islamic State coalition and a conference on Iraqi reconstruction.