Martin Indyk to visit Egypt on Arab tour

New U.S assistant secretary of state Martin Indyk starts a regional tour in Egypt this week, but is unlikely to focus on Middle East peace efforts, a US embassy source said yesterday.

Indyk, responsible for Middle Eastern and Near Eastern affairs, is due to arrive in Cairo today and will also visit Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar.

The source said Indyk was paying "normal introductory calls" at the start his job and his visit was not directly connected to U.S efforts to get Israeli-Palestinian talks back on track.

A 1993 Oslo agreement on Palestinian self-rule has been stalled since March when Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu started building a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem, Al Ahram daily said today.