US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Cairo today at the start of a whirlwind Middle East tour expected to focus on rebuilding support for sanctions against Iraq.
In Cairo, Mr Powell is due to meet President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and hold his first face-to-face meeting with visiting Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.
The US-Russian talks have been billed as a get-to-know-you session and no major breakthroughs are expected on a lengthy list of tricky issues.
Mr Powell and Mr Ivanov are expected to set the agenda for detailed future talks on topics ranging from arms control to missile defence, Iraq, Iran, the Middle East, Russian debt and the fate of an ex-Kremlin aide jailed in the United States.
Mr Powell's other stops on the crowded four-day tour are Jerusalem, Gaza, Amman, Kuwait, Damascus and Riyadh, with a day in Brussels on his way home on Tuesday.