CAIRO, Feb. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Egypt Tuesday, the first leg of a Mideast tour to gain Arab support in dealings with Hamas and a nuclear-minded Iran.
Official Egyptian sources said Rice will hold talks with Egypt's intelligence chief and Mideast troubleshooter, Omar Suleiman, and counterpart Ahmed Abul Ghait later Tuesday before a meeting with President Hosni Mubarak Wednesday.
The sources told United Press International Egyptian officials will try to convince Rice to give Islamic militant group Hamas, included on Washington's list of terrorist organization, time to form the new Palestinian government and outline its policies before taking punitive economic and political measures.
The United States and the European Union threatened to suspend financial aid to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas refused to recognize Israel, renounce violence and respect previous agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians.
Egypt will also underline the importance of mobilizing international and regional efforts to push the peace process forward by starting the implementation of the "road map" for peace in the Mideast.
The "road map" envisions the creation of two states, a Palestinian and Israeli sovereignty, living in peace side by side.
On the eve of her Mideast tour, the first after Hamas's landslide victory in Palestinian general elections last month, Rice warned Iran and Arab countries against offering financial assistance to Hamas and stressed that such behavior would reflect adversely on the peace process.
But Arab League Secretary General Amr Mousa said last week that Arab foreign ministers set to meet in Algeria will discuss ways for offering a monthly assistance of $50 million to the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas rejected Arab and international calls to recognize Israel and renounce violence, reiterating its attachment to armed resistance against Israel.
The Egyptian officials also said Rice will discuss the progress of political and democratic reforms in Egypt.
