CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hosted Russian spy chief Sergei Naryshkin and his accompanying delegation in Cairo.
The meeting was attended by the director of Egypt’s General Intelligence Service, Maj. Gen. Abbas Kamel.
Talks focused on the situation in the Middle East and ways to achieve regional stability amid the crisis in the Gaza Strip and escalating regional tensions.
Ahmed Fahmy, presidential spokesman, said that El-Sisi and Naryshkin also discussed a number of African issues, counterterrorism efforts and the latest developments in the international arena, especially in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
They reviewed Egypt’s efforts to quell regional tensions. El-Sisi highlighted Egypt’s vision regarding the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave. The Egyptian leader called for fundamental steps to defuse regional tensions.
Egypt also supports a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue, and the establishment of the Palestinian state, along the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, El-Sisi said.
The two sides reiterated their commitment to coordination based on longstanding historical ties.
On April 11, El-Sisi spoke to Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer via telephone.
The Egyptian leader highlighted the importance of the international community preventing military escalation in Gaza and a humanitarian catastrophe.
He warned of the “extreme danger” of regional escalation, which “threatens the security and stability” of the Middle East.
