US Secretary of State Kerry and UAE counterpart call for 'return to normal' in Egypt

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in London, August 2. REUTERS photo

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and the United Arab Emirates called on Aug. 2 for Egypt to return to normal and restore stability after fresh protests.

"Egypt needs to get back to a new normal," Kerry said on a stopover in London, after Islamist backers of Egypt's deposed president Mohamed Morsi staged defiant rallies in Cairo.

Kerry infuriated the ousted leader's supporters on Aug. 1 when he said during a visit to Pakistan that Egypt's military had been "restoring democracy" when it deposed Morsi.

After talks with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Kerry struck a more conciliatory tone, saying Egypt "needs to begin to restore stability to be able to attract business and good people to work. And that's a high priority." Kerry added: "And we will work very, very hard, together and with others, in order to bring parties together to find a peaceful resolution that grows the democracy and respects the rights of everybody." His Emirati counterpart said the international community did not want to see "anybody stopping Egypt from (going) the way it should go, and that's only going to happen by all parties being in an inclusive dialogue".

Police fired tear gas in a Cairo suburb on Aug. 2 to disperse protesters demanding Morsi's reinstatement, a security official and an AFP reporter said.

The protesters responded by saying they would march on the Egyptian army headquarters.