Vice President Pence, center left, and his delegation meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, center right, and his delegation at the presidential palace in Cairo on Jan. 20. As Pence prepared to leave on Saturday night, he told reporters that both of these issues came up in private conversations. The Egyptians eventually relented when Pence learned what had happened and requested that reporters be briefly allowed inside. “I will leave Egypt very encouraged by the conversations and even more grateful for the strong strategic partnership that the United States enjoys with Egypt,” he said. Pence received the news from his chief of staff, Nick Ayers, who then briefed reporters on the plane and distributed a written statement from the vice president.

Source: Washington Post January 20, 2018 18:40 UTC