US not to disrupt relations with Egypt: Kerry

CAIRO - US Secretary of State John Kerry, during his first visit to Egypt since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, said on Sunday that the United States would not disrupt relations with Egypt.

US President Barack Obama was keen not to disrupt relations with Egypt and ties between the two countries should not be " defined by assistance," Kerry told reporters at a joint press conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy.

The suspension of the US assistance was not a punishment, he added.

The US government has cut the annual 1.3 billion US dollar military aid on Oct 9, which was considered as a response to Egypt's military-backed government crackdown on the two major pro- Morsi sit-ins in mid-August that had claimed hundreds of lives.

Kerry's Sunday visit to Cairo was the first leg of a nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe.