Foreign minister had been due to meet US delegation led by Trump’s adviser and son-in-law in Cairo to discuss Middle East

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Egypt has called off a scheduled meeting between its foreign minister and top US presidential adviser Jared Kushner after the US decided to withhold millions of dollars in aid.

However, the office of the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, said he would meet the US delegation led by Kushner later in the day.

Two US sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Washington had decided to deny Egypt $96m (£75m) in aid and to delay a further $195m because of its failure to make progress on respecting human rights and democratic norms.

“Egypt sees this measure as reflecting poor judgment of the strategic relationship that ties the two countries over long decades and as adopting a view that lacks an accurate understanding of the importance of supporting Egypt’s stability,” the foreign ministry said.

The decision could have “negative implications” on achieving common goals and interests between the two countries, it added.

The foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, had been scheduled to meet the US delegation led by Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a close adviser, in Cairo to discuss the Middle East.

The meeting was cancelled immediately after the ministry released its statement, a copy of Shoukry’s schedule sent out to journalists showed.

A foreign ministry official told Reuters the meeting had been cancelled but did not give a reason. A US embassy official in Cairo said Kushner’s meeting with Shoukry had never been set in stone because “the schedule was never fixed”.