Egypt's Sisi meets Syria's Sharaa in Cairo for first time

CAIRO (Reuters) -Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met Syria's new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, for the first time on the sidelines of the summit held to discuss Gaza's reconstruction in Cairo on Tuesday.

Sharaa, an Islamist who was once an affiliate of al Qaeda, has been trying to gain support from Arab and Western leaders since he led a rebel offensive that toppled former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Sisi has cracked down on Islamists in the most populous Arab state, which has wide influence in the Middle East and is a close ally of the United States.

Unlike its Gulf allies, Cairo has been more cautious in its response to the new rulers in Syria, whom state-affiliated media have criticized.

The Syrian state news agency said Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani also attended the meeting, but did not give further details on the agenda.

The Egyptian presidency said in a later statement that Sisi urged launching a comprehensive political process that includes all Syrians without excluding any parties during the meeting with Sharaa.

Sisi also expressed Egypt's keenness on the unity and safety of Syrian lands, reiterating its rejection to any "assault" on Syrian territory.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha and Muhammad Al Gebaly, adidtional reporting by Mohamed Hendawy, writing by Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Leslie Adler, Lisa Shumaker and Chizu Nomiyama)

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