Munich: The United States backs Egypt's drive for orderly reforms to allow democratic elections, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Saturday in a sign of a new US emphasis on gradual transition to resolve the crisis over President Hosni Mubarak's rule.
Clinton threw her weight behind the reform effort launched by Mubarak's handpicked vice-president, Omar Sulaiman, saying the government's fragile dialogue with the opposition must be given time to unfold.
"It is important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian government actually headed by now-Vice President Omar Sulaiman," Clinton told an audience at a security conference in Munich.
Sulaiman began meeting prominent independent opposition figures on Saturday to go through various options, among which the most prominent is a proposal for him to assume the president's powers for an interim period.
US officials said Clinton was not explicitly endorsing a future political role for Sulaiman, Mubarak's long-time intelligence chief who is viewed skeptically by many in Egypt's opposition movement.
US President Barack Obama himself has urged Mubarak to "make the right decision" and US officials have over the past week indicated they believe his days in power may be numbered.
But Clinton, seeking to place renewed emphasis on the process of political transition, underscored the US view that it will take both time and patience to lay the groundwork for truly democratic new elections to take place.
"Our view is the early discussions are the right thing for the government to have initiated and now the opposition should get involved in them to test the proposition that the government is serious," said one senior US official, who declined to be identified.
Obama has repeatedly urged Mubarak to begin the transition immediately, and Clinton said on Saturday she believed that this process was already under way and should be allowed time to mature.
"The principles are very clear, the operational details are very challenging," Clinton said of the effort to organise future elections.
"President Mubarak has announced he will not stand for re-election, nor will his son," Clinton said, noting that the government had also pledged constitutional reforms and allowing greater political participation.
"That is what the government has said it is trying to do, that is what we are supporting, and hope to see it move as orderly but as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances."
Egypt has dominated Clinton's schedule at the Munich conference, where she used her speech to warn that the broader Middle East faces a "perfect storm" of unrest unless regional leaders get cracking on political reforms.
While eager to extend moral support to the protesters, who have staged 12 days of demonstrations demanding Mubarak leave immediately, both Clinton and Obama have consistently stopped short of calling for the 82-year old ruler to step down.
Clinton said all sectors of Egyptian society would have to be patient and contribute. "This is such a difficult set of decisions for any government to carry out and do so in a way that results in the outcome we're all seeking," she said.
