U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) meets with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry at the Department of State in Washington D.C. March 26, 2019. (Xinhua/Ting Shen)
WASHINGTON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday discussed bilateral relations with visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, according to the State Department.
Pompeo and Shoukry discussed ways to advance Egypt's and the region's security and stability, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a statement.
During their meeting, Pompeo congratulated Egypt on the 40th anniversary of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, which was signed by then Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Washington D.C. on March 26, 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords that brokered by then U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
The treaty led to the normalization of relations between Egypt and Israel, and the end of Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had captured during the third Middle East war in 1967.
In the same war, Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria and annexed it in 1981, but the international community never recognized the move.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, which drew broad opposition from the international community.
Syria called the U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights as a "blatant attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity" of Syria, state news agency SANA reported.
Egypt said Friday in a statement that it considers the Golan Heights as occupied Syrian land.
