‘US, Egypt to reinforce ceasefire’

CAIRO: Egypt and the United States said they would work together to reinforce a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants as US secretary of state Antony Blinken visited Cairo and Amman on Wednesday on a regional tour.

Egypt has longstanding relations with both sides in the conflict and played a key role in brokering the ceasefire after 11 days of violence, in coordination with the United States.

“We’ve had in Egypt a real and effective partner in dealing with the violence, bringing it to a close, relatively quickly,” Blinken said, following a meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and intelligence head Abbas Kamel.

The two countries were now “working closely together build something positive”, he said.

Sisi told Blinken recent events reaffirmed the need for direct talks between the two sides with Washington’s involvement, according to an Egyptian presidency statement. Sisi also discussed the issue in a video call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Blinken arrived in Egypt after stops in Jerusalem and Ramallah before flying on to Jordan, where he landed in the late afternoon.

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