George Mitchell, US President Barack Obama's special envoy to the Middle East, arrived in Cairo on Sunday evening, the latest stop in a whirlwind trip to revitalize peace talks, according to dpa. Mitchell had originally been scheduled to come to Egypt on Tuesday. The reason for the rescheduling was not immediately made public. Mitchell met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus and Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv earlier on Sunday, as part of a US diplomatic blitz to restart negotiations for a comprehensive peace in the region. US Defence Secretary Robert Gates was also expected to begin a trip to Israel and Jordan on Sunday.