By Xinhua
Cairo : Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed AbulGheit on Monday renewed his country’s rejection to link U.S. aid to any conditions.
Abul Gheit reiterated the Egyptian stance on U.S. assistance during talks with a visiting U.S. Congress delegation of the Republican Party, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said in a statement.
Their talks focused on U.S.-Egyptian relations in light of the approval of the U.S. Congress recently to hold back 100 million U.S. dollars in aid to Egypt, the spokesman said.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice rejected including any conditions in the U.S. assistance program to Egypt due to the keenness on distinguished U.S.-Egyptian relations and the appreciation of Egypt’s role in realizing international and regional stability, the spokesman quoted Abul Gheit as saying.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Relations Committee of the People’s Assembly (lower house of the Egyptian parliament) also affirmed Egypt’s rejection of linking U.S. aid to any conditions, the official MENA news agency reported on Monday.
“Egypt is an independent country that makes its own decisions and no one can dictate terms on it,” head of the committee Moustafa el-Feqi was quoted as saying at a meeting discussing the move of the U.S. Congress.
In a television interview on Sunday, Abul Gheit said Egypt is awaiting an official stance by the U.S. administration on the proposed U.S. Congress legislation on aid, MENA said.
Abul Gheit said Israel and some pro-Israel U.S. Congressmen are behind the aid issue, warning that Egypt could use its diplomatic influence against those who seek to harm its interests and relations with the United States.
Egypt, the first Arab nation to have diplomatic ties with Israel, is the second largest recipient of U.S. aid in the Middle East, behind Israel.