Egypt is resisting calls from the Biden administration to arm Ukraine for its imminent counteroffensive, just months after Cairo dropped plans to help Moscow.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that although Egypt has agreed not to assist the Kremlin's invasion, its government is hesitant to help the Western effort to refill Ukraine's dwindling ammunition supplies.
Top-ranked members of the Pentagon reportedly asked Egypt in March to supply Ukraine with artillery shells, antitank missiles, air-defense systems, and small arms — a request they have still been pushing.
While Egypt has not officially rejected the United States' appeal, multiple sources told the Journal that the Middle Eastern power had no plans to contribute.
But an anonymous Department of State official said Washington's conservations with Egypt, a historic strategic partner of the United States, have been "productive" as of late.
"These are not simple or quick issues, and our discussions with our Egyptian partners on our mutual interest in ending Russia's war are productive and ongoing," the senior official added.
In response to Egypt's consistent refusal to help Ukraine, a group of House Democrats pressured Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a Thursday letter to be more selective with the conditional funding to the country.
"We are strongly concerned by reports from both the State Department as well as numerous credible human rights and civil society organizations about the persistent and continued systemic violations of human rights in Egypt," the letter read.
"Therefore, as the Department weighs whether to grant Egypt the $320 million ... or to withhold such funds from obligation, we call on you not to certify that Egypt has taken 'sustained and effective steps' to implement the criteria as required by law."
The U.S. provides Egypt with $1.3 billion in military aid annually, a small portion of which is conditional upon geopolitical circumstances and Cairo's human rights record, the Journal noted.
And since 1978, Washington has provided Egypt with more than $50 billion in military and $30 billion in economic assistance, according to estimates by the Department of State.