US 'cautiously encouraged' by Egypt poll schedule

Describing the current situation in Egypt as complex, the White House has said that it is "cautiously encouraged" by the announcement of a election schedule by the new military-backed interim government in the country.
"We are cautiously encouraged by the announcement by the interim government that it has a potential plan for moving forward with a democratic process and elections, both parliamentary and presidential, and we think that's a good thing," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters yesterday.
Carney called on all parties to engage in a dialogue about that process and not to refuse to participate.
"Because we believe that the best hope for resolving this crisis is through a process that is inclusive and in which everyone participates," he noted responding to questions on the announcement of the new election schedule by the interim government in Egypt after democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the powerful military.

The US President Barack Obama he said has been meeting regularly with his national security team about the situation in Egypt.
"We have not made a determination about what to call or label the events in Egypt that led to the change in government there," he said.

"There is an elephant in the room here and it is in our national interest, the best interests of the United States, and the best interests, in our view, of our goal of assisting the Egyptian people in their transition to democracy to take the time necessary to evaluate the situation before making such a determination," he said.

This issue goes beyond the question of USD 1.5 billion financial assistance to Egypt, USD 1.3 billion of which is security assistance, Carney said.
"So I acknowledge that this is a complex and difficult situation and that we are handling it cautiously for that reason.
"We don't think it would be in the best interests of the United States to change the assistance program quickly or immediately. Rather, we'll take the time necessary to evaluate it. We will review our obligations under law. We will consult with Congress and then move forward," he said.
As of now, the US is engaging with Egyptian authorities and leaders around the region and calling on all parties to resist violence, and to protest peacefully.

"We are calling on all parties to participate in a dialogue and a process towards reconciliation, because there is a dangerous level of political polarisation right now in Egypt, as we've seen, and the best hope for Egypt's future is for that polarisation to give way to reconciliation," he added.