Sisi: Trump is key to solution of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Cairo - 19 May 2017: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi said he trusts U.S. President Donald Trump’s capabilities and promises to the region, considering him to be the key to solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

When asked about U.S.-Egypt relations under Trump’s ruling, during a Wednesday press meeting, Sisi said he considers the American president a very “distinctive and great” person “who wouldn’t go back on resolving issues successfully.”

Sisi held a second round of meetings with the editor-in-chiefs of the state-run newspapers, where he tackled Egypt’s international relations and a number of regional issues.
The meeting comes ahead of Sisi’s visit to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as he attends Arab Islamic American summit due to take place May 21 per an invitation from the Saudi King Salman bin Abdel Aziz.

On Wednesday, Sisi assured that bilateral cooperation between Egypt, and the kingdom is in full swing, planning to invest in the summit’s meetings for the sake of stability in the region. Egypt is joining the summit “with great hopes,” he added.

Discussing the Palestinian case, Sisi said “Palestinians are ready for peace…Arabs are ready for peace,” adding that he believes there is an opportunity under Trump’s era, “and if it is exploited then we will reach a solution and the conflict will be a history.”

In the same context, he said that Trump “does not take much time to resolve issues, and his mechanisms are different from others, since he is a powerful person.”

Sisi went on saying that Egyptian-American relations are “going positive” adding “we declare some things and keep others to ourselves.”

Trump is set to attend the summit in Riyadh; he said he would use his trip to urge leaders of Muslim countries to fight extremism.

The President assured that the region won’t heal unless states in crisis recover and restore their position, in reference to Syria. He also referred to Libya stating that his latest meeting with Libyan General Haftar was “successful” and a reconciliation process is to start with the disarmament of militias in Libya, which is rooted in Egypt’s strategy of supporting national armies.

As Egypt-Sudanese relations have witnessed a media conflict recently, Sisi stressed that both countries share “very special relations,” adding that he rejects any attempts to ruin this “strategic partnership.”