THE Egyptian President welcomed his leaders Israel and of United Arab Emirates for a rare tripartite summit at a time when the war in Ukraine shocks energy and food markets as major powers approach a new deal on Iran’s nuclear program.
The meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh, a seaside resort on the Red Sea, was attended by the President Abdel Fattah al-Sisithe Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed bin Zayed.
It focused “mainly on energy and food security” at the height of the war in Ukraine, according to Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Randy.
Gulf oil countries, including the United Arab Emirates, are resisting Western pressure to increase production and curb rising crude oil prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Egypt, which imports 85% of its wheat and 73% of its sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia, bears the brunt of the unprecedented rise in cereal and oil prices caused by Russia’s invasion of its neighboring country.
Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are allies of the United States but also maintain relations with Russia and their position remains cautious in the face of the war in Ukraine.
The Sharm el-Sheikh tripartite meeting is the first of its kind in which the three leaders are taking part.
Egypt is the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, ending the state of war between the two neighboring countries.
However, since then, it has not normalized its relations with Israel, rather maintaining a cold peace with its neighbor due to the strong support of its people on the Palestinian issue.
The United Arab Emirates, a Gulf oil monarchy that has never been in conflict with Israel, has normalized relations with the Jewish state in 2020, under the so-called Abrahamic agreements signed under US auspices.
For Cairo University political science professor Mustafa Kamal Sayed, the Abrahams’ agreements allowed for a smoothing that extends “beyond security.”
“Great success”
“The United Arab Emirates is trying to share these new partnerships with the countries of the Middle East, and Egypt is an important partner.”
The unprecedented meeting is therefore “a true reflection of this effort” and it is “a great success for Mohammed bin Zayed”.
Bennett had met with President Sisi in September during Israeli Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first visit to Egypt in 10 years and traveled to the Emirates in December 2021.
Yesterday (22/3), the official Emirates news agency, Wam, reported that the meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh focused on “strengthening relations as well as the importance of cooperation, coordination and dialogue to meet development expectations.” and stability in the region “.
The meeting also took place amid talks between Iran and major powers over Iran’s nuclear program, and the impact of a possible deal is being assessed by several Arab countries, such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
The Jewish state is skeptical of a possible international deal on Iran’s nuclear program, its number one enemy, with Bennett denouncing its willingness to sign an agreement “at almost any cost.”
Iran and the United States have been negotiating for 11 months in Vienna to revive the 2015 agreement signed between Tehran and the major powers to guarantee that there will never be an Iranian atomic bomb.
The deal has been collapsing since the Americans withdrew from it in 2018 and reinstated sanctions that have strangled the Iranian economy, prompting the Islamic Republic to release key restrictions imposed by the deal on its nuclear program.
The United States said last Wednesday that a compromise was “close”, following several positive signs, such as the release of two Iranian-British detainees held in Iran for years.
Bennett reiterated in statements published today by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that Israel “as it has already said publicly, is not a party to the agreement” on Iran’s nuclear program.
“For us, the agreement is not binding. “The Americans understand it and have assimilated it.”
Washington welcomed the summit
The US State Department says it welcomes the tripartite summit between the leaders of Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, who met in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss the economic impact of the Russian invasion and Iran’s growing influence in the region.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the US special envoy for Iran, Robert Maley, was in close consultation with Gulf partners.
Source: News Beast
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