The White House raised eyebrows on Tuesday when it stated, in a readout of a call, that U.S. President Joe Biden thanked Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Egyptian president, “for his determined leadership in the facilitation of negotiations that have now reached a final stage.”
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, was asked about the reference to the ceasefire and hostage deal being in the “final stage” during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“I’m not going to go beyond what the president stated. We have been very clear that it is important that the—the ceasefire deal, the hostage deal gets done. It has been a priority for this president for some time now,” Jean-Pierre said.
“You’ve heard from the president directly. He wants to get this done. He wants the war to end. He wants hostages to come home and to go home to their loved ones and families,” the press secretary added, per a White House transcript. “And so, we believe th-—this—this war, the end of this war would significantly lower tensions in the region. And so, we have been, certainly, laser-focused on getting that done.”
“I don’t have anything beyond the readout that you received from us moments ago,” she added.
