Kerry: US-Egypt ties go beyond military aid
Reporting by: Nehal El-Sherif
Cairo (dpa) - Relations between Egypt and the United States should
not defined by military aid, US Secretary of State John Kerry said on
Sunday during the first high-level visit since the military toppled
Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.
"We discussed very briefly the recent decisions regarding US assistance," Kerry said in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Nabil Fahmy, referring to Washington's decision to withhold military aid.
"We agreed that US-Egypt relations should not be defined by assistance, there are much bigger issues that concern us and define the relationship," Kerry said.
The United States wants to see a transition to democracy as a condition to renewing military aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Kerry voiced support for a roadmap laid out by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, which includes amending the Islamist-skewed constitution approved under Morsi and holding parliamentary and presidential elections by mid 2014.
"We discussed very briefly the recent decisions regarding US assistance," Kerry said in a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Nabil Fahmy, referring to Washington's decision to withhold military aid.
"We agreed that US-Egypt relations should not be defined by assistance, there are much bigger issues that concern us and define the relationship," Kerry said.
The United States wants to see a transition to democracy as a condition to renewing military aid worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually.
Kerry voiced support for a roadmap laid out by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, which includes amending the Islamist-skewed constitution approved under Morsi and holding parliamentary and presidential elections by mid 2014.
Kerry is scheduled to meet with al-Sissi and Interim President Adly Mansour before heading to Saudi Arabia.
"Kerry's statements today affirms that we all pursue resuming the strong relations between us," Fahmy said.
The army launched a deadly crackdown on supporters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups after it removed Egypt's first democratically elected president on July 3.
The Muslim Brotherhood has refused to recognize the military-backed government and wants Morsi reinstated.
The army rejects accusations that it carried out a coup, saying it had answered the wish of millions of Egyptians who held unprecedented mass protests to demand that Morsi step down.
Kerry, whose visit comes one day before Morsi's trial for inciting violence opens in Cairo, said the United States supported Egypt's efforts to tame an Islamist insurgency in the Sinai desert on the border with Israel.
Kerry had asked Morsi during a visit in March to implement political and economic reforms to ease tensions with the largely secular opposition.
Egypt had received some 1.3 billion dollars in annual military aid from the United States since it signed a peace accord with Israel late in the 1970s.
Washington's decision to suspend military aid angered many Egyptians, who see the move as interference in Egypt's internal affairs and a show of support for the Muslim Brotherhood.
Kerry's visit, which includes stops in Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco and Poland, is seen as an effort to mend ties with Middle Eastern allies opposed to US policy in the region.
Saudi Arabia was angered by President Barack Obama's decision to hold off military strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The Saudis, who support the mainly Sunni groups fighting to topple the Iran-backed Syrian regime, want Washington to arm the rebels.
Kerry said differences on Syria would affect relations with Saudi Arabia.
"We can have a different policy or tactics... those differences on individual tactics do no create a difference on the fundamental goal of the policy," he said.
Kerry will also review progress in US-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians when he visits Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Israel is treating with caution Obama's diplomatic overtures with Iran to solve a dispute over the Islamic Republic's nuclear activities.
Israel views a nuclear-armed Iran as an existential threat and has not ruled out military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
