Egyptian Pres. el-Sisi: I Have Standing Invitation to Address Congress

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi told Fox News he has a standing invitation to address Congress, but wants to wait until recent events in his country are better sorted out in the minds of Americans.

Sisi was interviewed over the weekend by "Special Report"  anchor Bret Baier for a special to be aired on Friday.

In a portion of the interview aired Tuesday on "Special Report," Sisi discussed his efforts to improve ties between Egypt and the United States. Baier noted that Sisi has been invited to and has visited Russia, but has not so far received an invitation to the United States.

Sisi took a deep breath and appeared searching for a thought before responding, "As a matter of fact, I received an invitation from members of the U.S. Congress to speak to the Congress members.  I believe the invitation is on and visiting is available."

He noted, however, that it might take time before "there is a complete understanding of what took place in Egypt."

The legitimacy of Sisi's presidency is debated, after he led what some have termed a coup against the elected President Mohammed Morsi. But Sisi has received praise from the West for calling for a reform of Islam to root out terrorist groups such as Islamic State (ISIS.)

"Undoubtedly it needed a lot of clarification and needed a lot of enlightened arguments in order to explain all the complications that shadow this region including Egypt," Sisi told Fox News. "But Egypt is very much committed to the relations with the United States and Egypt is really keen on the strategic partnership of the United States."

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