White House: Obama closely following events in Egypt

The White House said Tuesday that US President Barack Obama was "closely" following events in Egypt and that that country remains a "high priority issue." Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters that Obama is "obviously closely following events in Egypt" following the first hearing of ousted President Mohammad Morsi, which was held at the Police Academy yesterday. He added that Secretary of State John Kerry was recently in Cairo "to reiterate US support for the Egyptian people and their transition to democracy and to discuss the way forward with the interim government." He stressed that the interim government that replaced Morsi "had the support of millions of Egyptians who believed the revolution had taken a wrong turn," but the interim government "also has made decisions inconsistent with inclusive democracy, and we've pointed those out. "This is an ongoing priority in the foreign policy realm for the president, for the secretary, for the national security adviser and others," he remarked. He affirmed that the US administration has "made clear that the United States believes that there has to be an end to politicized arrests and detentions. "We'll continue to make that call, and we continue to look to the government of Egypt to ensure that Egyptians are afforded due process with fair and transparent trials and that civilians are tried in civilian court," he noted. Carney reiterated that Egypt "remains a high-priority issue for all the national security principals."