The cancelation of American military assistance to Egypt comes just days after a $2.5 billion arms deal was agreed between the two nations
The US has announced that it is canceling $130 million in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns, with the move coming just days after the Biden administration approved a $2.5 billion arms sale to the North African country.
Cairo has failed to meet all the human rights conditions set out by Washington to be eligible for the paycheck, the US State Department announced on Friday.
“After January 30, the secretary intends to reprogram the $130 million to other national security priorities,” it pointed out, without elaborating on what those priorities might be.
In September, Secretary of State Antony Blinken greenlighted $300 million in foreign military aid to Egypt, but withheld another $130 million on condition that the country fulfilled “specific human-rights related conditions” by the end of January.
The government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is accused of having enacted a large-scale crackdown in recent years on Islamist and secular activists involved in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak.
The arrest and prosecution of dissidents is believed to have been facilitated by the state of emergency that was imposed in Egypt in April 2017, after church bombings and deadly attacks on Coptic Christians. It had been prolonged several times over the years, with Sisi lifting the state of emergency only last October.
During his phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Thursday, Blinken “reaffirmed the importance of human rights in the bilateral relationship,” according to the State Department.
However, disagreements over human rights didn’t prevent the Biden administration from approving a $2.5 billion sale of 12 Super Hercules C-130J transport aircraft and air defense radar systems to Egypt on Tuesday.
The deal would “support the foreign policy and national security of the US by helping to improve the security of a major non-NATO ally country that continues to be an important strategic partner in the Middle East,” the State Department explained.
It didn’t mention the arms sale when announcing on Friday that military aid to Cairo would be cut.
“Egyptians are not thrilled” to be deprived of $130 million, an unnamed senior State Department official told the CNN.
He insisted the decision on military aid and the arms sale were unrelated. There was no inconsistency in Washington’s actions because “we’re letting them [Egypt] buy things that are in our interest,” according to the official.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price later said the statements by the unnamed official didn’t reflect Washington’s official position, describing Egypt as “a valuable partner across many fronts.”
source: RT
Împotriva articolelor redacției noastre, persoanele nemulțumite pot formula Contestație în termen de 10 zile de la publicarea articolului, la judecătoria Orășenească nr. 1 München Bayern Deutschland, in conformitate cu Legea federală Germană. Considerăm că nu se pot formula acțiuni la instanțele din România deoarece nici o persoană care activează în trustul nostru nu poate fi extrasă de sub jurisdicția federală germană. Considerăm că redacția noastră nu răspunde în fața autorităților din România ci doar celor federale sau civile germane. deoarece legea română nu are efecte de extraneitate asupra redacției chiar dacă subiectul știrilor face obiectul unor evenimente sau persoane din România și sunt scrise în limba română. Limba română nu este izvor de extraneitate a legii.
absolvent WEB DESIGN Academia Britanică de Comunicare Iasi - absolvent COMUNICARE IN AFACERI Academia Britanica de Afaceri si Comunicare -absolvent JURNALISM EDITORIAL - London School University - 2019 inscris la echivalare diploma la Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara - absolvent studii de Drept Universitatea Europeană Drăgan, cursuri in Drept la Universitatea de Vest Timisoara, absolvent studii de proiectare, pastor coordonator in Biserica Protestanta Evanghelica,
Android Developer pe Google Play și plugin developer la Oxwall, creator de teme Wordpress și Oxwall, operator Wordpress, Drupal, Oxwall, Osclass, Moodle, tehnologii HTML și PHP
The promise of free community college in the latest spending bill is gone, Jill Biden confirms Though free community college was promised by US President Joe Biden when previously promoting his administration’s massive spending packages, it will no longer be included, the first lady confirmed on Monday. While visiting a community college summit in Washington, […]
The atmosphere of an exoplanet relatively close to Earth in cosmic terms is in the spotlight Scientists have announced that a remarkable planet could reveal the mysteries of many space formations, after water vapor was detected in its atmosphere. Listed under the name TOI-674 b, the exoplanet – so called because it orbits not around […]
The first generations to occupy space outposts may be left with few nutrition choices, scholars believe Two scientists have suggested there is a very real possibility the first space colonists may turn to cannibalism, noting that failures in crops and a lack of supplies may leave people with very few choices. Speaking with the Metro […]
