Egyptian Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense Mohamed Hussein Tantawi held talks with visiting Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak in the Red Sea Resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday.
Their talks focused on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and a host of security and strategic issues, said Egypt's official MENA news agency.
The talks of the two defense ministers came amid tensions between the two countries on the alleged weapon-smuggling into the Gaza Strip through tunnels along the Egyptian-Gaza borders.
Egypt on Tuesday rejected the criticism made by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni about Egypt's handling of the tunnels along the borders with the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Livni said Monday that Egypt was not doing enough in curbing arms smuggling by Palestinian militants into the Gaza Strip, thus scuttling Israel's efforts in promoting the peace process.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki termed Livni's Monday statements as "unacceptable in form and content." According to a MENA report on Tuesday, Egyptian security forces discovered and destroyed two ground tunnels near the Egyptian-Gaza border town of Rafah.
The Egyptian security authorities are exerting more efforts to inspect the area in search for other tunnels, said the report. Barak, who arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh on Wednesday, is expected to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak later on Wednesday.
Source:Xinhua
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