US to resume weapons supply to Egypt

Baltimore Star Wednesday 1st April, 2015

us to resume weapons supply to egypt

• Obama in a phone call to Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi said he was lifting the holds on delivering F-16 fighter planes, Harpoon missiles and tank kits

• The US president also advised President al-Sisi that he will continue to request an annual $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt

• The arms ban has been in place since October 2013 following the overthrow of former president Mohamed Morsi, who is in prison

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama Tuesday ended a 17 months arms ban on Egypt, clearing the way for transfer of weapons including four large-scale weapons systems as Cairo considers joining Saudi Arabia led military actions against extremists in Yemen and Libya.

Conveying the decision to lift the arms supply freeze, Obama in a phone call to Egyptian President Abdelfattah al-Sisi said he was lifting the holds on delivering F-16 fighter planes, Harpoon missiles and tank kits..

"The President also advised President al-Sisi that he will continue to request an annual $1.3 billion in military assistance for Egypt," the White House said in a statement.

The arms ban has been in place since October 2013, in the wake of the August 2013 military crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, who rallied in support of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, the Arab nation's first democratically elected leader, according to a White House statement .

Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is currently imprisoned and faces espionage charges.

The Obama administration refused to label the incident a coup, allowing the U.S. government to maintain its relationship with Cairo while still exacting a price for the crackdown.

The decision to reverse the ban comes after a comprehensive review of U.S. military assistance to Egypt.

"In the interest of U.S. national security, President Obama has directed the release of 12 F-16 aircraft, 20 Harpoon missiles, and up to 125 M1A1 Abrams tank kits that have been held from delivery," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement Tuesday.

The White House also promised to lift a hold on the transfer of four large-scale weapons systems that had been stalled since October 2013.

The $1.3 billion funding aid Obama has pledged to request for Egypt makes it the second-largest recipient of military aid.

Obama told el-Sisi in their phone call that beginning in 2018 that assistance would be channeled into specific categories, including counter terrorism and security in the contested Sinai region.

"In this way, we will ensure that U.S. funding is being used to promote shared objectives in the region, including a secure and stable Egypt and the defeat of terrorist organizations," said Meehan.

"These measures put our assistance programmes more in line with current core U.S. priorities."

The United States was providing Egypt $260 million assistance prior to the 2013 ban. Subsequent to the ban, Congress passed legislation requiring that the military aid be lifted only when Egypt took steps toward restoring democratic rule. It was made mandatory for the US administration to verify that the Egyptian government has taken firm steps towards democracy.

The White House said it "will not make the so-called 'democracy certification" in this year's allotment of military aid to Egypt, while adding that Obama had "reiterated U.S. concerns about Egypt's continued imprisonment of non-violent activists and mass trials" during the phone call.

Meehan said the White House "will continue to engage with Egypt frankly and directly on its political trajectory and to raise human rights and political reform issues at the highest levels.

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