(AFP Photo)
Spokesperson of the US Department of State Victoria Nuland expressed worry over recent violent clashes between the opposition and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Nuland addressed the violence in Egypt during a press conference on Friday, stating that the US had encouraged the Egyptian government to lead a comprehensive dialogue to deal with “popular frustrations” in the political and the economic spheres.
“We have encouraged anyone with grievances in Egypt to express themselves peacefully… and security forces to exercise restraint,” Nuland said.
She also mentioned President Mohamed Morsi’s pledge for reforms which he made to Secretary of State John Kerry during his official visit to Egypt earlier in March.
Kerry had announced that the US would provide $250m in aid to Egypt after President Morsi promised to go forward with negotiations regarding economic reforms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Nuland said that after Kerry’s visit Morsi had invited IMF representatives back to Egypt for another round of negotiations. “They have not come to a resolution, but they are continuing to work and there had been some hiatus in that.”
She also addressed the topic of the parliamentary elections; she noted that when the court decided to suspend the elections, Morsi complied with the decision and instead of “jamming through” a contentious package of electoral laws, adding that Morsi used the judicial system to address the matter by filing an appeal.
When asked if Morsi’s actions were encouraging enough to proceed with delivery of the aid, Nuland said that he has taken some steps and the US will continue to watch events closely.
