US Welcomes Formation of Interim Government in Egypt

The US State Department on 16/7/2013 welcomed the formation of an interim government in Egypt. Spokesman Patrick Ventrell told a news briefing that the transitional period has just started and Egypt now has an interim president and the government was sworn in.

He asserted the necessity of achieving a democratically elected government in a democratic and sustainable state and that Egypt achieves the fruits of the revolution, which it deserves.

Ventrell said that the message deputy Secretary of State William Burns had conveyed in Cairo was Washington's "desire to have an inclusive, tolerant, democratic future for Egypt."

"He talked about our desire for a non-violent, inclusive path forward," he said. Although Burns did not have a face-to-face meeting with Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement, the US diplomat did speak by phone to one of the group's representatives, Ventrell said.

"We want to ease the polarization that can poison society -- we want to move from polarization," he said.

Meanwhile, the spokesman denounced violence in Egypt that left seven people dead after security forces clashed with supporters of the country's ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

"We strongly condemn the overnight violence in Cairo," Ventrell told reporters. "Simply put, violence makes the transition much more difficult."

"We don't take sides" and Washington wants to see Egypt "get the democratic process back on track," Ventrell added.