US Ambassador to Cairo Margaret Scobey refused to answer a question by Al-Masry Al-Youm about whether a deal had been struck between the US and the Egyptian governments to release al-Ghad Party leader Ayman Nour. Speaking at a celebration by the Rotary Club of Alexandria, she said every Egyptian deeply knew these things and could understand how Nour had been released. She pointed out that the US supported everyone defending freedoms, especially religious ones, in Egypt. Scobey said she wanted to correct some tendencies in this regard and called on the Egyptians to make their own agenda concerning this issue. About US divergent policies, she said there were many voices and institutions in the US which expressed their opinions. She added President Obama was not free to finance whatever he wanted, as US policy is governed by internal interests and the Congress is a big system intervening in US policy-making. Scobey also pointed out that Obama was still exploring what surrounded him and had not taken a decision yet. Regarding the Palestinian Cause, she said the US wished to see a comprehensive and fair solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Therefore, she said the US would work to solve the problem indiscriminately. The US thinks such solution includes two states living side by side in peace and security and times has come to solve this issue, she pointed out. As for Jerusalem, she said the two parties had to negotiate. Scobey added that the US paid $100 million to Gaza through the UNRWA and the Red Cross. She said, though, that the Palestinians had many things to do, such as stopping rocket attacks forever and achieving reconciliation among Palestinian parties.
