The Takeaway: US ties with Egypt loom large again
Picking up the pieces in Gaza; the uneasy, uncertain peace between Israel and Hamas; PLO and Hamas still can’t find common ground; Russia on the diplomatic sidelines; desert kingdom looks to build forest; and more!
Hot take: Blinken, Sisi catch up on regional issues … and human rights
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Wednesday for nearly two hours with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, referring to him afterward as a “real and effective partner” in brokering a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas Gaza war. Sisi, he said, is helping “build something positive."
Beyond Gaza: The Blinken-Sisi conversation went well beyond the Gaza cease-fire:
-They also discussed the so-far stalled diplomacy over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Ethiopia is committed to the second filling of the dam, which Egypt claims will disrupt the flow of its water from the Nile. The potential crisis involves three key US partners — Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. Ayah Aman has the latest on the Nile dam crisis here.
