By Xinhua
Cairo : Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday morning received visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and held talks with her on means to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process.
Mubarak discussed with Rice the latest developments in the region, especially the Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip in the past few days that killed more than 120 Palestinians and wounded hundreds of others.
They also discussed about the future of the political settlement especially after the Palestinian side has declared its suspension of all contacts with Israel to protest against the Israeli practices in Gaza.
Rice arrived here early Tuesday to start her new Middle East tour, during which she is also expected to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Rice’s visit came a day after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew its ground troops from the Gaza Strip on early Monday after completing the first stage of the activity dubbed “Operation Hot Winter.”