US Secretary of State John Kerry said the Egyptian military “played a significant role in ensuring stability in Egypt” and without it, the country would have “subsided into a civil war.”
Kerry made his comments during a congressional hearing on Thursday, where the 2014 budget of the US Department of State was discussed, Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.
Responding to a question directed at him concerning US aid to Egypt, he stated: “The Egyptian armed forces does not only ensure the security of Egypt but has also achieved what it promised – relinquishing power and handing it over to those who succeeded in the [June 2012] presidential elections.”
Washington provides $1.3 billion worth of military aid to Egypt annually. At the start of March, following Kerry’s visit to Egypt, the US government said it will provide Egypt with an additional $250 million in budget aid after President Mohamed Morsi promises to make the painful economic reforms necessary to secure an International Monetary Fund loan that is currently in the pipeline.
Ahram
