US aid to Egypt still under review: White House

Washington, Aug 21: President

and his national security team would discuss whether the country should continue or curtail the annual aid worth $1.5 billion to

, the

said Tuesday.

The White House spokesperson Josh Earnest, during a daily briefing, also termed the media reports suggesting the US assistance to Egypt had been cut off as "not accurate", Xinhua reported.

Admitting that Obama had directed his national security team to review the aid and assistance relationship with Egypt, the officia said, but the review had not concluded yet. He said providing foreign assistance was not like a spigot, or could be turned up and down like a faucet.

Stating Obama will convene a meeting of his national security team on the issue Tuesday afternoon, the official cautioned against anticipation of any major announcements following the meet.

Earlier in the day, the National Security Council also said that the Obama administration had not taken any final decision on halting assistance to Egypt.

As the President has said, we are reviewing all of our assistance to Egypt. No policy decisions have been made at this point regarding the remaining assistance," its spokesperson said in the statement.

A section of US media reported late Monday that the administration had quietly ended some aid to Egypt.

A spokesman for Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the Senate's Subcommittee on the Department of State and Foreign Operations, said Monday that his office had been told that the aid to Egypt had been halted.

Also, a Pew poll released Monday showed, 51 percent of the Americans say it is better for the US to cut off military aid to Egypt, while 26 percent of Americans want to continue the aid to maintain influence in the African country.

IANS