U.S. to ease Egypt military aid suspension

The U.S. Department of State announced Tuesday that it is relaxing a partial aid suspension imposed on Egypt after the country's military ousted President Mohamed Morsi last year and launched a violent crackdown on protesters.

The department made the decision to stop sending "large-scale military systems" to Egypt in October “pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government through free and fair elections.” 

Tuesday's announcement that the U.S. government will provide Cairo with 10 Apache attack helicopters came after officials concluded Egypt had upheld its peace treaty with Israel, U.S. officials said.

Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979 that eased tensions and normalized relations between the two countries.

Tuesday's move comes ahead of the May 26 and 27 presidential election and amid concerns that Egypt has failed to embrace democratic reforms after Morsi was deposed in July of last year. At least 1,400 people have been killed in the crackdown on Morsi's supporters and thousands more arrested, according to Amnesty International.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel informed Egyptian Defense Minister Gen. Sedki Sobhy of the decision in a phone call Tuesday, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, Hagel’s spokesman, in a statement.

The choppers are meant to bolster counterterrorism operations in the Sinai, Kirby said.

"The secretary noted that we believe these new helicopters will help the Egyptian government counter extremists who threaten U.S., Egyptian, and Israeli security," the statement read.

To signal its displeasure with Cairo's crackdown on dissent, the Obama administration had imposed a temporary freeze on the delivery of major weapons to Egypt, including the Apache helicopters as well as fighter jets and other hardware. 

But the United States has struggled to balance its concerns over human rights abuses with a strategic interest in keeping up counterterrorism ties with Cairo and maintaining the Egypt-Israel peace accord. 

As a result, Washington chose not to cut off all aid to Egypt's military-backed government and avoided officially labeling the ouster of Morsi a coup. 

Hagel told Egyptian officials that Secretary of State John Kerry will "soon certify to Congress that Egypt is sustaining the strategic relationship with the United States and is meeting its obligations under the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty," Kirby said. 

The certifications are required before U.S. government funds can be allocated to Egypt, he said. Hagel, however, told the Egyptian minister that "we are not yet able to certify that Egypt is taking steps to support a democratic transition," according to Kirby.