The Wall Street Journal reported at a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations in Paris last month that US President Donald Trump was heard describing Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the "favorite dictator."
In a luxuriously decorated room at the Hotel de Palais in Biarritz during the Group of Seven summit in France, the US president was waiting for a meeting with Sisi.
Witnesses said they believed Trump had made the comment jokingly, but said his question had been met with complete silence. The newspaper could not confirm whether Sisi was present at the time.
Sisi has been criticized for his authoritarian rule since taking office in 2013.He has been accused of detaining thousands of political opponents, torturing and killing prisoners and suppressing political dissent, according to reports by the United Nations, the US State Department and non-governmental organizations.