Clinton Reaffirms US Support For Egypt Transition

The U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday reaffirmed the strong support of the United States to the democratic transition of Egypt, after talks with the new president, Mohamed Morsi. “I came to Cairo to reaffirm the strong support of the United States to the Egyptian people and its democratic transition,” she said during a joint press conference with her Egyptian counterpart Amr Mohamed.

“We want to be a good partner and support democracy, which was set up thanks to the courage and sacrifice of the Egyptian people,” she added. “Democracy is difficult (…). It requires dialogue and compromise,” she noted. “We want to help. But we know that this is not the U.S. but the Egyptian people to decide,” Clinton stressed. She also expressed support to maintaining the Egyptian – Israeli peace accord.

Clinton comes to Egypt during a showdown between Mr. Morsi, from the Muslim Brotherhoods, the army and Judiciary, which annulled some articles of the election laws.

During her two day visit, Clinton is also scheduled to meet with Marshal Hussein Tantawi, Chief of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), and representatives of civil society, particularly the Copts and activists of women’s rights, according to a U.S. official.