Egypt's diplomatic expedition to the United Nations has ended up with positive, somehow unexpected, outcomes. The country's delegation to the annual meetings of the General Assembly, in New York, was met by a warm reception from several regional groups while Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmi discussed internal political developments with scores of heads of state and ministers. A couple of days before US President Barack Obama's speech at the international body, Fahmi talked to US Secretary of State John Kerry in a private meeting in downtown Manhattan. According to sources in New York, the meeting did not discuss the possibility of releasing Muslim Brotherhood leaders or US aid to Cairo, the issue of which came under much pressure since the toppling of former president Mohamed Morsi on 3 July following the revolution against his regime and the MB. Both Kerry and Fahmi focussed on the future power arrangements in Egypt as the US senior official insisted on pursuing a clear plan. A political transition is Washington's chief goal in its relations with Egypt. The State Department statement, following the meeting, confirmed that the discussion focussed on “Egypt pursuing its roadmap and doing so in a genuine, inclusive, transparent way, and to demonstrate early that it's moving definitively to a civilian-led government through elections.” Also, Fahmi reassured the US that the interim government is committed to securing the country and to “fight against violence and terrorism within the framework of the law.” In return, Kerry told the Egyptian official that building democratic institutions is an important imperative to Washington. The atmosphere of the Kerry-Fahmi meeting affected Obama's speech. The US president tuned up his words to show more commitment to the special relationship, committing to developing a “constructive relationship” with Egypt. At the same time, Obama confirmed the US position that its “support will depend upon Egypt's progress in pursuing a more democratic path.” To justify extending hands to the new government in Cairo, Obama criticised former president Morsi, saying that he was “unwilling or unable to govern in a way that was fully inclusive”, and he acknowledged that “the interim government that replaced him [Morsi] responded to the desires of millions of Egyptians who believed the revolution had taken a wrong turn, but it, too, has made decisions inconsistent with inclusive democracy.” In a short sentence the Wall Street Journal described Obama's take on Egypt as “trying to prod Cairo without pushing too hard”. Fahmi said the speech was “positive”. The top Egyptian diplomat, in an earlier interview with the London-based newspaper Al-Hayat, said that the relationship with the United States is “unsettled”, and that US popularity among Egyptians is in an “unprecedented negative bent”. Following Obama's speech, Fahmi told the Associated Press that the acknowledgement that Morsi did not rule in an inclusive manner was a positive step. “This is the correct interpretation of what the Egyptian people did,” Fahmi said. “When they came out on 30 June, they were not arguing about the efficiency of the government. The issue was they had a revolution two years before because they wanted to be stakeholders and players in establishing Egypt's future and they felt that they were being excluded,” he explained. On the sideline of the assembly, Fahmi met members of the US Council on Foreign Relations where he discussed future relations and, also, made two telephone calls with both leader of the Democratic minority at the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and leader of the Republican majority Eric Cantor. Fahmi's address confirmed the ability of the new government to contain American and Western criticism. Fahmi was specific, short and persistent, as he avoided mentioning the countries that support the Muslim Brotherhood and asked the international community to support Egypt in its war against terrorism. The main headline of Fahmi's speech was the political roadmap and renouncing the parties that back violence in the current crisis: “All Egyptians are invited to participate in all phases of the political process, as long as they are committed to the renunciation of violence and terrorism, and of acts of incitement to them,” he said. “Work is underway, in line with the roadmap, on several tracks. It has so far succeeded in establishing the principles of justice, freedom and democracy, as a basis for governance” to address the concerns of the US and the international community. The top diplomat confirmed that establishing the principles of justices and democracy “will be followed by parliamentary elections, then presidential elections, so that the transitional phase ends by next spring.” Despite the fact that the United States is not keen to confront the new government in Cairo, the mood in Washington is pushing Obama's administration into putting some limits on the ties with the military until the restoration of democracy and holding free elections. Obama's commitment to a strong relationship with Egypt would push some parties to question his Middle East policy but he was clear when he confirmed to the world that the US is following its own interests before anything else. Meanwhile, in the third visit since the ousting of Morsi, Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, returned to Cairo on Wednesday to try, what a European diplomat described as, to “nudge forward efforts to re-establish political dialogue”. Ashton met the European foreign ministers last week in New York to discuss the developments in Egypt. She accepted a proposal to return to Cairo since the ministers expressed concern towards the situation in the country. The European foreign ministers agreed in August to a slight scaling back of military cooperation with Egypt but decided to continue economic assistance. Ashton was supposed to hold official talks and meet with representatives of political forces, including the Nour, the biggest Salafist party.
