Washington, Jan 20 (AFP) US Vice President Mike Pence setoff for the Middle East for a trip overshadowed by controversyover plans to move the American embassy in Israel toJerusalem.
Pence had been due to travel in December last year, butArab anger over President Donald Trump's decision to declareJerusalem Israel's capital saw many planned meetingscancelled.
The deadly protests that erupted at the time havesubsided, but Pence may still face a cold welcome in somecapitals and concern over the fate of the UN aid agency forPalestinians (UNRWA).
Washington has delayed a USD 65 million funding packagefor the cash-strapped body, putting at risk operations tofeed, teach and heal thousands of Palestinian refugees.
The Palestinian leadership, already stunned and furiousover the Jerusalem decision, has denounced the USadministration and had already refused to meet Pence duringhis planned December trip.
But Pence's press secretary, Alyssa Farah, said the vicepresident would still meet the leaders of Egypt, Jordan andIsrael on the high-stakes four-day tour.
Pence will arrive in Cairo today for a meeting withEgyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, heading the followingday to Amman for a one-on-one with King Abdullah II.
Both these leaders, whose countries have peace deals anddiplomatic ties with Israel, would be key players if USmediators ever manage to get a revived Israeli-Palestinianpeace process off the ground, as Trump wants.
They are also key intelligence-sharing and securitypartners in America's various covert and overt battles againstIslamist extremism in the region and Egypt is a majorrecipient of aid to help it buy advanced US military hardware.
On Monday, he will begin a two-day visit to Israel, wherehe will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PresidentReuven Rivlin and deliver a speech to the Knesset.
He can expect a warm welcome from local politicians afterTrump's decision on Jerusalem, which Israelis and Palestiniansalike interpreted as Washington taking Israel's side in thedispute over the city. (AFP)AJR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.