Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told his US counterpart, Donald Trump, on Saturday that the world was relying on him 'to reach a permanent and historic peace agreement' to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Saturday's phone call marked the first between the two leaders since Trump repeatedly floated a plan to relocate Palestinians from Gaza to Jordan and Egypt, a proposal that has been strongly rejected by Sisi and other Arab leaders.
A statement from Sisi's office said that during the call, the two leaders exchanged mutual invitations for state visits and stressed the importance of continued 'coordination and cooperation.'
Sisi also emphasized that 'the international community is counting on President Trump's ability to reach a permanent and historic peace agreement that ends the conflict that has existed in the region for decades,' according to the statement.
Last month, Trump suggested a plan to 'clean out' the Gaza Strip, stating that he would 'like Egypt to take people' from Gaza, as well as from Jordan.
At that time, he said he would speak with Sisi the following day, but Egypt later denied that the call had taken place.
Both Egypt and Jordan have rejected Trump's plan.
On Wednesday, Sisi called the proposal 'an injustice that we cannot take part in,' but added that he remained 'determined to work with President Trump, who seeks to achieve the desired peace based on the two-state solution.'
Trump, however, insisted again on Thursday that Egypt and Jordan 'will do it,' adding, 'We do a lot for them.'
Egypt is a key US ally in the region and was the only country, besides Israel, to receive an exemption from Trump's foreign aid freeze last month.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Egypt has played a delicate balancing act, maintaining its role as a mediator in the conflict while positioning itself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.
'If I were to ask the Egyptian people, all of them would take to the streets to say "no,"' Sisi said Wednesday about the proposed plan.
At a meeting in Cairo on Saturday, top diplomats from Egypt, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar also rejected any forcible displacement of Palestinians, according to a joint statement.
On Friday, state-linked media in Egypt broadcast footage of protests near Egypt's border with Gaza, where demonstrators voiced opposition to Palestinian displacement.
The statement from Sisi's office on Saturday did not mention the proposal, but noted that the call 'witnessed a positive dialogue' between the two leaders on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Egypt, the US, and Qatar."
With AFP
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