Kerry, Egyptian leader explore path to calming conflicts

Israeli-Palestinian friction, tension and war in Libya, Syria command attention

Reuters

CAIRO - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held brief talks Wednesday with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, one day after the Egyptian leader proposed new efforts to try to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Kerry already had been scheduled to meet with Sisi to discuss a series of meetings this week in Vienna on the Libyan and Syrian conflicts.

A U.S. official said Kerry would delve further into Sisi's proposal, made Tuesday during a speech, to mediate a reconciliation between rival Palestinian factions to pave the way toward a lasting peace accord with the Israelis.

After the meeting, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said they discussed a 'range of bilateral and regional issues, including recent developments on Libya and Syria.”

During the meeting Kerry 'stressed the importance of Egypt's role as a regional partner,” Toner said.

Egypt was the first of a handful of Arab countries to recognize Israel with a U.S.-sponsored peace accord in 1979, but Egyptian attitudes toward their neighbor remain chilly.

Sisi's proposal, made during an impromptu speech at an economic conference, came as France pushes for an international conference to launch peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told France's foreign minister Sunday that his country remains opposed to Paris' initiative, which arose from French frustration over the absence of movement toward a two-state solution since U.S.-brokered talks faltered in 2014.

Kerry spoke Tuesday with Netanyahu and earlier this week with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, the U.S. official said, without elaborating.

During the meetings Monday and Tuesday in Vienna, world powers said they are ready to consider demands from Libya's new unity government for exemptions from a U.N. arms embargo to help take control of the lawless country.