Washington imposes its will on Egypt - Ahmed Abul Gheit

A top Egyptian minister accused the United States Wednesday of imposing its "will" on its Arab ally, even as the White House warned Cairo had fallen short of a "minimum threshold" for reform, AFP reports.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit lashed out in a television interview on a day when Washington also stiffened its line towards Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, who has opened a dialogue with opposition groups.

Amid warnings by the Egyptian government of a military crackdown on mounting protests, the US government appealed again on armed forces it helped to build with billions of dollars in military aid to show restraint.

Abul Gheit condemned US rhetoric on a crisis sparked by days of opposition protests in Egypt, in an interview with PBS television, complaining that Washington had called for a political transition "now" and "immediately."

"When you speak about 'prompt,' 'immediate,' 'now,' as if you are imposing on a great country like Egypt, a great friend that has always maintained the best of relationship with the United States, you are imposing your will on him," Abul Gheit said.

"Egypt and the president of Egypt, the government of Egypt have already started and the Egyptian president laid down a road map and allowed or asked the VP to engage in discussions on the road map with the different opposition groups.

"So for Americans to come and say 'Change is now,' but already we are changing. Or 'You start now,' we started last week," Abul Gheit said.