WASHINGTON _ The Trump administration this week asked Egyptian authorities for a seat at the table at an upcoming energy summit in Cairo, seeking a leading role in the establishment of a major gas forum in the Eastern Mediterranean, two senior administration officials told McClatchy.
U.S. national security officials see strategic value in the success of the Egyptian project, which could eventually wean European allies off their dependence on Russian fuel and provide the basis for improving relationships. "That's the roadmap to Middle East peace," one official said, "building up cooperation that's clearly in your best interests."
During Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's visit to Washington on Tuesday, Trump's top aides asked their Egyptian counterparts if the United States could attend the second meeting of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, a group that Cairo launched in January with Jordan, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
