Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held talks in Washington on Tuesday with his US counterpart Marco Rubio, focusing in particular on negotiations with Iran and the Gaza ceasefires.
According to a statement issued by Egypt’s Foreign Ministry late Tuesday, the two officials also discussed the prospect of strengthening the strategic bilateral partnership between their countries.
During the talks, Abdelatty highlighted “ongoing efforts to narrow gaps in the negotiations between the United States and Iran in order to safeguard regional security,” stressing the urgency of reaching compromises to ensure regional stability, the statement said.
For its part, the US embassy in Cairo said in a statement released on April 14 that talks addressed the ceasefire with Iran and the importance of securing long-term peace in the Middle East.
The US Secretary of State briefed his Egyptian counterpart on the latest technical developments in the complex negotiations with Tehran.
In an interview with the New York Post on Tuesday evening, Donald Trump announced that a new round of talks with Iran was expected to take place within the next two days in Pakistan, emphasizing his preference for “a diplomatic solution” to the current crisis.
He also told Fox News that a war with Iran was “almost over,” adding that Iranian authorities “genuinely want to reach an agreement.”
On Wednesday, Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian told the IRNA news agency that his country was “ready to negotiate.”
Regarding the situation in Palestine, both sides discussed joint efforts to disarm Hamas, in line with the 20-point plan for Gaza announced by the US president.
“It is imperative to put an end to the ongoing Israeli violations in the West Bank,” Abdelatty said during the discussions.
The meeting coincided with the launch in Washington on the same day of the first direct peace talks in decades between Lebanese and Israeli delegations, held in the presence of Marco Rubio.
Abdelatty reaffirmed Cairo’s support for “an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and respect for its territorial integrity through the strengthening of the national army,” the statement added.
AK/ac/lb/as/APA