MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Egypt postpones visit of top Brazilian diplomat allegedly because of the Jerusalem controversy

Aloysio Nunes Ferreira was set to fly to Cairo for a Nov. 8-11 visit, during which he was to meet President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his counterpart Sameh Shoukry

Egypt has postponed a visit by Brazil's top diplomat, Brazil's foreign ministry said on Monday, in a move that allegedly was due to the President-elect's vow to relocate the yBrazilian embass in Israel to Jerusalem.

Aloysio Nunes Ferreira was set to fly to Cairo for a Nov. 8-11 visit, during which he was to meet with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and his counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

Egypt's foreign ministry postponed Nunes Ferreira's trip, citing problems with senior officials' agendas, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

But foreign ministry sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said no new date has been proposed, signaling Egypt's discontent with Jair Bolsonaro's proposal.

Bolsonaro's promise to relocate Brazil's embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv follows a similar move by U.S. President Donald Trump in May, after he recognized the city as the capital of Israel. Palestinians also claim as their political capital.

The U.S. move stirred outrage especially in the Middle East as most countries insist that Jerusalem's status, as a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians, should be determined in a final peace settlement between Israel and Palestine.

Bolsonaro's promise breaks with longstanding Brazilian foreign policy in support of a two-state solution to the conflict.