Egypt leaders meet Trump envoy despite aid cuts

Egypt’s president and foreign minister met Wednesday with White House envoy Jared Kushner hours after the Trump administration cut or delayed hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Cairo over human rights concerns.

A modified version of Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry’s schedule Wednesday had earlier showed the meeting with Kushner cancelled, which was widely seen as a snub in protest at the aid cuts. But Shoukry later sat in on Kushner’s meeting with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and met with the American delegation separately at the Foreign Ministry.

Kushner, who is also President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was in Cairo as part of a Middle East tour aimed at exploring ways to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, which last collapsed in 2014.

White House adviser Jared Kushner and visiting U.S. officials have been snubbed by the Foreign Ministry in Cairo in apparent protest over a U.S. cut in aid to Egypt.

The ministry says the country’s top diplomat, Sameh Shoukry, cancelled his meeting with Kushner and the others, which had been scheduled for later on Wednesday. The U.S. delegation is in Cairo as part of a Mideast tour to press Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

The gesture comes after the Trump administration on Tuesday cut nearly $100 million in military and economic aid to Egypt and delayed almost $200 million more in military financing, pending human rights improvements and action to ease harsh restrictions on civic and other non-governmental groups.

A government statement says the American delegation will still meet with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Source: The Associated Press