CAIRO
United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday said that Egypt could play a decisive role in an international fight against terror by rejecting the thoughts of the militant Islamic State (IS) organization.
Speaking to the media following a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukri, Kerry added that Egypt is on the frontline of the fight against terrorism, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula, northeastern Egypt.
Sinai has been a hotbed for militant activities for months now. The Egyptian military has started a crackdown on these militant activities over a year ago.
Kerry said he discussed with Egyptian officials a bid by his country to broaden an international coalition against IS, which had overrun large territories in both Iraq and Syria and threatened to expand its activities to other neighboring states.
He added that both Egypt and the Arab League supported the international coalition against IS, noting that during his meetings in Cairo he discussed means of speeding up efforts aiming at broadening the coalition as well as the responsibilities of each party inside it.
The U.S. top diplomat went on to say that his talks with Egyptian officials focused on the need for fighting terrorism and extremism.
He said it is only about time for terrorism to turn from a danger to one country into one for all countries, which is the case of IS now.
Kerry noted that he discussed with al-Sisi the steps Egypt could take in relation to Iraq, even as he did not provide further information on these steps.
-Thorny issues-
The U.S. Secretary of State said he had told Egyptian officials that his country wanted to see Egypt succeed in making its transition.
He added that the U.S. would support Egypt's "important" economic reforms, holding its presidential elections, and moving forward toward the protection of human rights.
The U.S. had repeatedly expressed concerns over the status of freedoms in Egypt, particularly after last year's ouster by the military of elected president Mohamed Morsi last year.
Kerry said in his talks with Egyptian officials he also expressed fears as far as freedoms are concerned in Egypt.
He said his country would cooperate with Egypt on these issues, which included, according to him, Egypt's controversial protest law.
The law, which makes it necessary for activists to take authorization from the government before staging protests or assemblies, has come under fire since it came out months ago.
A large number of Egypt's activists, including some of this country's most prominent revolutionaries, have landed in jail for violating the law.
Kerry was in Cairo following a visit to Saudi Arabia where he discussed the formation of an international coalition against IS and support for the newly-formed government in Iraq.
Since early last month, the U.S. has carried out a total of 143 airstrikes across Iraq against sites said to be held by the Islamic State.
Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and Iraqi government troops – backed by U.S. air support – are said to have recently made slow but steady progress in areas under the group's control.
By Hagar al-Dosoki
www.aa.com.tr/en
