CAIRO (AA) – The Egyptian government has voiced its "surprise" at a US decision to withhold some military aid to Egypt.
In a Thursday statement, Egypt's cabinet said the US decision came at a critical time when Egypt was fighting a "war on terrorism."
The Obama administration announced early Thursday that it would cut $0.25 billion in aid to Egypt to signal its displeasure with the slow pace of democratic reform since the July 3 ouster of elected president Mohamed Morsi.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the US administration would freeze delivery of some promised military systems and cash assistance to the Egyptian government until "credible progress" was made on the formation of a freely-elected government.
The State Department put the total aid reduction at $260 million of Egypt's usual $1.3 billion in annual US assistance.
Egypt's cabinet said it would continue to implement a transitional roadmap while fighting all forms of terrorism "according to Egypt's free will and the massive popular support for defeating the forces of crime and terrorism."
The transitional roadmap was agreed upon by the military and Egypt's political and mainstream religious forces following Morsi's overthrow this summer.
The timetable includes the amendment of the constitution and parliamentary and presidential polls within nine months.
Egypt-US relations have worsened due to recent political developments in Egypt. Recent US statements on Egypt have often featured denunciations of state violence used against unarmed civilian protesters.
Washington has urged the Egyptian government to release all types of detainees and begin an "inclusive" political process. It has also issued threats to reduce US assistance to Egypt.
A sizeable portion of Egyptian society supports Morsi's ouster, saying Egypt's first freely elected president since 1953 had failed to run the country's affairs.
Another segment of society, however, views Morsi's ouster as a military coup, lacking both constitutionality and democratic legitimacy.
Thousands of "anti-coup" protesters continue to take to the streets countrywide on a daily basis to demand Morsi's reinstatement.
