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LOS Cabos, Mexico, February 20, 2012 (AFP)
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday voiced hope that the United States would soon resolve a row with Egypt over its plans to try American and other foreign NGO workers.
Speaking after a Group of 20 conference in Mexico, Clinton declined to describe US discussions with Egypt’s military rulers but repeated that the United States was “deeply concerned” about the situation.
“We’ve had a senior team in Cairo in recent days trying to work through the issues so that they can be resolved as soon as possible,” she told reporters.
“I think it’s probably better just to continue the hard work of our engagement and hope that we’ll see a resolution soon,” Clinton said.
US Senator John McCain, on a visit to Cairo on Monday, said that Egypt’s military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi assured that he was working “diligently” to resolve the row with traditional ally Washington.
The trial of 43 democracy activists, including 19 Americans, working for local and foreign NGOs operating in Egypt, is due to begin on Sunday, according to Egyptian judicial sources.
Washington has already hinted that the crackdown could harm its long-standing ties with the Egyptian government.
Apart from Americans, the accused include Serbs, Norwegians, Germans, Egyptians, Palestinians and Jordanians.
