Secretary of State John Kerry said that US’ suspension of military hardware deliveries to Egypt could resume if of the country’s interim government make headway toward restoring civilian rule.

Secretary of State John Kerry said that US’ suspension of military hardware deliveries to Egypt could resume if of the country's interim government make headway toward restoring civilian rule.

"So this would be on the basis of performance," he said Thursday during a visit to Malaysia.
"By no means is this a withdrawal from our relationship or a severing of our serious commitment to helping the government" transition to democracy, Kerry told reporters in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

Washington on Wednesday announced a halt to shipments of some large-scale military systems and withheld $260 million in cash aid to Egypt, following the army's ousting of president Mohammad Mursi in July.

The step was aimed at signaling Washington's displeasure with the military rulers over months of bloodshed amid a deadly crackdown against protesters loyalist to Mursi.

Egypt has criticized the US decision as "flawed" and said it would not “bow to American pressure.”

The decision, which marks a dramatic break with years of unqualified support to Cairo, will prevent deliveries of big-ticket items including Apache helicopters, F-16 fighter jets, M1A1 Abrams tank parts and Harpoon missiles.

Kerry stressed, however, that the latest move was "not a withdrawal" of the US relationship with Egypt. "We are going to continue, we want this government to succeed."