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Egyptian FM cautions strained U.S.-Egypt relations

17 October 2013 02:40 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi said Wednesday that the U.S.-Egypt relations are strained, which could affect the entire Middle East region, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The Egyptian foreign minister's comments came after a U.S. decision to limit military aid to Cairo.

On Oct. 9, U.S. State Department said it was "recalibrating" part of its 1.5 billion U.S. dollars of annual aid to Egypt in response to the situation in the country, holding the delivery of certain large-scale military systems and some cash assistance to the government.

The Egyptian government considered the U.S. decision as "wrong" in a time when Egypt is combating terrorism, mainly in Sinai Peninsula.

Fahmi told state-run Al-Ahram newspaper that he was not worried about this disturbance in relations, noting "it's also a chance for the two to better evaluate their relationship."

The Egyptian minister added that Washington has mistakenly assumed that Cairo "would always follow the U.S. polices and goals. "

Tension in U.S.-Egypt relations began in the wake of the ouster of Islamist Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Although Washington refrained from describing it as a military coup, it decided to review the U.S. aid to Egypt.