US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta meets Egyptian leaders

Описание: (4 Oct 2011)
1. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, arriving at Egyptian defence ministry and being greeted by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Egypt's military ruler
2. Tantawi and Panetta walking up stairs to meeting room
3. Panetta greeting Egyptian commanders
4. Photo-op withTantawi and Panetta
5. Pan right from US delegation to Tantawi and Panetta, seated for meeting
STORYLINE:
US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, America's former top spymaster, was meeting with Egyptian leaders on Monday and urging them them to release a US-born man being held for allegedly spying for Israel.
Egypt has accused Ilan Grapel, 27, of being a Mossad agent - a claim Israel denies - and his detention since June has escalated criticism of Egypt's military, which took over rule of the country after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak in February.
The military has pledged to hold presidential elections soon, and Panetta said he would press Egyptian leaders to move to the elections and quickly put a civilian government in place.
It is considered unlikely by some officials that Egypt would choose Panetta's visit as the time to release Grapel, who has been held since 12 June.
Grapel is a dual US-Israeli citizen who said he was working for a Cairo legal aid project when he was arrested.
Published reports have suggested that he is ill and that Egypt's government was responding to appeals for his release.
But there have been no specific promises, nor any public suggestion his release might be tied to Panetta's visit in an effort to curry support from the US.
Panetta's stop in Egypt comes after a day of meetings with Israel and Palestinian leaders, as he travelled from Tel Aviv to the West Bank urging the two groups to resume peace talks.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...