US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Cairo for talks with Egypt's military-backed government. Photo: Reuters
US Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Cairo to push Egypt's military-installed rulers for democratic progress, on his first visit since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Mursi.
On the eve of the opening of Dr Mursi's trial, Mr Kerry landed in Cairo, seeking to shore up ties with a key regional ally and ensure Egypt moves ahead with plans to restore democracy just weeks after the US suspended part of its $US1.5 billion ($1.59 billion) in annual aid.
Mr Kerry's visit to Cairo was kept under wraps by US officials until he landed. It was the first time a US secretary of State has travelled to Egypt on an unannounced visit for security reasons, the BBC said.
US officials said Mr Kerry, the most senior figure of the US administration to visit since Dr Mursi's July ouster, would meet with Egyptian leaders, including interim President Adly Mansour, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and powerful military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
His talks would focus on how the US wants to see a political transition that is "sustainable, inclusive and democratic," a senior State Department official said.
Mr Kerry would also carve out time during his six-hour visit to meet behind closed doors with members of Egyptian civil society, who are increasingly alarmed by a crackdown on protesters and the slowness of a return to democracy.
Dr Mursi, an Islamist leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who became Egypt's first democratically elected president, was toppled by the military on July 3 after a turbulent year in power that deeply polarised Egyptians.
According to the interim government's timetable, parliamentary elections are to be held by mid-2014 followed by presidential polls.
More than 1000 people have died in a crackdown on protests by Mursi supporters since July, and the US froze some of its military aid to Egypt last month in frustration at the lack of progress.
The US said it was "recalibrating" aid to Egypt, which includes about $US1.3 billion for military assistance, and suspending delivery of items such as Apache helicopters, F-16s aircraft, M1A1 Abrams tank parts and Harpoon missiles.
The US had for three decades supported Dr Mursi's predecessor, Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted by a popular uprising in 2011, relying on Egypt to help maintain stability in the volatile region.
But Egypt now says it wants to reposition its foreign policy to "serve national interests".
"We have strong relations with the US and EU. We are opening with others to expand our options," Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelaty said at the weekend.
Mr Kerry's visit is the first stop on a packed 12-day trip that will also take in Saudi Arabia, Poland, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria and Morocco.
The aim of squeezing in a Cairo stop was to examine progress on "issues that are important to the United States" such as freedom of assembly and the press, protection of minorities, the participation of civil society and human rights, the senior State Department official said.
The US would be informed by "a constant review of progress to help us understand how well the Egyptians are moving along their road map [and] when it's appropriate to lift some of the holds that we have on the equipment," he said.
The timing of the visit is awkward however, coming on the eve of Dr Mursi's trial, with 14 others, on charges of inciting the murder of protesters outside the presidential palace in December 2012.
The US has called for Dr Mursi's release and an end to politically motivated trials but has also stopped short of denouncing his ouster as a coup.
"Mr Mursi proved unwilling or unable to govern inclusively, alienating many Egyptians," US acting Assistant Secretary of State Beth Jones said last week.
The military had responded to "the desires of millions of Egyptians who believed the revolution had taken a wrong turn", she said.
Mr Kerry will also seek to soothe anger in Egypt at the US suspension of aid for a key ally, seen as a cornerstone of regional stability thanks to its 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
The aid freeze has also met with a chilly reception in Saudi Arabia, another vital US ally, and Mr Kerry will fly there later on Sunday for what could be tough talks with King Abdullah.
It will be Mr Kerry's first talks with the Saudi king since he took up his post in February, and they come amid rare tensions with the Saudis also fuelled by the war in Syria and a nascent US outreach to arch-foe Iran.
AFP