{{US senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham arrived in Cairo Monday as part of a fresh diplomatic push to find a peaceful solution to Egypt\u2019s ongoing political crisis sparked by the military’s overthrow of Islamist president Mohammed Morsi.}}<\/p>\n
The two senators were asked by US President Barack Obama to travel to Egypt to meet with its military leaders and members of the opposition, with talks due to start on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Before leaving, Senator Graham said in a television interview that Egypt\u2019s military must move \u201cmore aggressively\u201d to hold elections and that future US aid will hinge upon a return to civilian rule.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe military can\u2019t keep running the country. We need democratic elections,\u201d he told CNN\u2019s State of the Union programme on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Almost 300 people have been killed in political violence since the military ousted Morsi on July 3 and the US has been grappling with how to respond to the situation amid increasing political turmoil.<\/p>\n
The White House and US lawmakers are also struggling with how to handle the $1.55 billion in mostly military aid that Washington sends each year to Egypt, a key ally in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
US law bars sending aid to countries in which there has been a military coup, and Obama administration officials have been strenuous in their efforts to to talk about events in Egypt without using the word.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to keep the aid flowing to Egypt but it has to be with the understanding that Egypt is going to march toward democracy, not toward a military dictatorship. And that\u2019s the message we\u2019re going to send,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n
france24<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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