US not taking any sides on Egypt crisis: Gibbs

WASHINGTON - In wake of massive protests in Egypt, the United States has made it clear that it is not determining whether Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak should leave office amid massive protests against his rule.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Monday that it is “not for me or our government to determine.”

Gibbs said the United States is “not picking between those on the street and those in the government.”

He also said that the US was seeking an “orderly transition” in Egypt, CBS News reports.

Asked what he meant with those words, Gibbs said the US wanted to see “a process of negotiations with a broad cross-section of the Egyptian people, including those that are in the political opposition at the moment.”

A reporter asked: “Orderly transition means change. So by using those words, is the administration now admitting that President Mubarak should leave?”

“I do believe orderly transition means change. And what we’ve advocated from the very beginning is that the way Egypt looks and operates must change. That’s why we believe we should increase the amount of freedom that is had by the Egyptian people on association, on assembly, on speech, on Internet, and open communication,” Gibbs said.

“But that’s not for us to determine what the parameters and what the limits of those are. But undoubtedly transition in this case means change. There’s no doubt about that,” he added.

Asked if he was saying that Mubarak should be removed, Gibbs said: “No, again, that is not for our country or our government to determine. I don’t think that people that seek greater freedom are looking for somebody else to pick what and how that change looks like.” (ANI)