A five-member US congressional delegation arrived in Egypt on Wednesday to hold talks with top Egyptian government officials, days after discussions by another congressional team concluded in Cairo.
Led by congressman Tim Kaine, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee, the delegation is due to hold talks with interim President Adly Mansour and foreign minister Nabil Fahmy on recent developments in the country and the region as part of a three-day visit, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.
A separate group of congresspeople met with military chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on Tuesday as part of talks on US-Egypt ties and recent regional developments.
The visits come on the heels of recent talks held by El-Sisi and Russian officials last week in Moscow on an arms deal to replace suspended aid from key ally Washington.
The US has cut back a chunk of some $1.5 billion of its assistance to Egypt since October amid alarm in the US administration about the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July and an ensuing crackdown on his supporters.
A state department spokeswoman has confirmed the aid remains on hold, as the US reviews the progress its key Middle East ally is making towards democracy. It has denied that warming ties between Moscow and Cairo will hurt Washington's "long-standing, strong, historical" relationship with Egypt.
