Kerry presses Egypt’s Morsi, military for unity and reform
Protests near airport delay Kerry’s departure
CAIRO, March 3, (Agencies): US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Egypt’s president Sunday, wrapping up a visit to the deeply divided country with an appeal for unity and reform.
Aday after warning the country’s bickering politicians that they must overcome differences to get Egypt’s faltering economy back on track and maintain its leadership role in the volatile Middle East, Kerry conveyed a similar message to President Mohammed Morsi and his defense minister and intelligence chief.
During their two-hour plus meeting, Kerry and Morsi talked about Mideast peace, Syria and Iran, as well as the economic, political and human rights situation in Egypt, according to a US State Department official who was not authorized to discuss the private session and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The US is deeply concerned that continued instability in Egypt will have broader consequences in a region already rocked by unrest.
US officials said earlier that Kerry planned to stress the importance of upholding Egypt’s peace agreement with Israel, cracking down on weapons smuggling to extremists in the Gaza Strip and policing the increasingly lawless Sinai Peninsula while continuing to play a positive role in Syria’s civil war.
Yet, with parliamentary elections approaching, his call for harmonizing domestic Egyptian politics is just as important, they said.
Liberal and secular opponents of Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood say they will boycott upcoming elections, and violent clashes between protesters and security forces have created an environment of insecurity, complicating Egyptian efforts to secure vital international aid.
After Kerry’s meeting with Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the defense minister, Egypt’s state news agency reported they discussed “means to support military cooperation between the two countries in light of the depth of Egyptian-American relations.”
El-Sissi was reported to have expressed his ‘aspiration for more such cooperation to build and develop the fighting capabilities of the Egyptian armed forces to support security and peace in the region.”
In meetings with Egypt’s foreign minister and opposition politicians on Saturday, Kerry said reaching agreement on economic reforms to seal $4.8 billion in International Monetary Fund loans was particularly critical. Closing the IMF deal also will unlock significant US assistance promised by President Barack Obama last year.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Egyptian football fans briefly blocked a main road to Cairo’s international airport on Sunday, forcing a delay in visiting John Kerry’s departure, an airport official said.
The Al-Ahly fans blocked the road in anticipation of a court ruling this weekend in which rival supporters in Port Said face sentencing over a deadly post-match riot. The Al-Ahly fans want them convicted.