Protesters in Tahrir Square. The US has warned that Cairo has not done enough to meet the protesters' demands. Photograph: Pedro Ugarte/AFP/Getty Images The Egyptian leadership is pushing back against American pressure for rapid political reform, again warning that mass demonstrations and spreading strikes to demand President Hosni Mubarak's immediate resignation could lead to a military coup.
Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, rejected Washington's demand for concrete actions to show that major change is under way, saying that Washington should not "impose" its will.
The White House responded by warning that Cairo has not done enough to satisfy what the Obama administration has previously characterised as the legitimate demands of the protesters.
"I think it is clear that what the government has thus far put forward has yet to meet a minimum threshold for the people of Egypt," said Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman.
Earlier this week, the US vice-president, Joe Biden, called Mubarak's deputy, Omar Suleiman, the former intelligence chief who is now overseeing dealings with the opposition and the promised political transition, to urge him to immediately lift the oppressive 30-year state of emergency.
In an interview with PBS television in the US, Aboul Gheit was asked if he regarded Biden's call as helpful advice from a friend.
"No, not at all. Why is it so? Because when you speak about prompt, immediate, now – as if you are imposing on a great country like Egypt, a great friend that has always maintained the best of relationship with the United States, you are imposing your will on him," he said.
The Times has reported that Saudi Arabia has threatened to prop up Mubarak if the White House tries to swiftly force him from power. It said that King Abdullah told Obama two weeks ago not to humiliate Mubarak and said Saudi Arabia would step in to replace the $1.5bn (£0.9bn) in annual US aid to Egypt, most of it to the military, if Washington cuts off assistance.
Such an offer would embolden Suleiman who would otherwise be concerned about the impact on the army about the sudden loss of financing.
King Abdullah has defended Mubarak and accused "intruders" of meddling in Egypt's affairs.
Aboul Gheit said that the US should accept the extended timetable for political change outlined by the Egyptian leadership which centres on Mubarak resigning at elections in September.
"So for Americans to come and say 'Change is now', but already we are changing! Or 'You start now', we started last week. So better understand the Egyptian sensitivities and better encourage the Egyptians to move forward and to do what is required. That is my advice to you," he said.
However, talks with Mubarak's political opponents have faltered before they even gained traction after the regime declined to consider the establishment of an interim government.
Diaa Rashwan, a member of a key opposition group, the Council of Wise Men, told the Guardian that talks are going nowhere for now and that pro-democracy campaigners are alarmed at Suleiman's warning - since reiterated by Aboul Gheit - that if the protests continue there could be a military coup.
"The regime is taking a hard line and so negotiations have essentially come to an end. Suleiman's comments about there being a danger of a coup were shocking to all of us. It was a betrayal of the spirit of negotiations, and is unacceptable," he said. "The regime's strategy has been just to play for time and stall with negotiations. They don't really want to talk to anyone. At the start of this week they were convinced that the protests were going to fade away."
Instead, the government was faced with its largest demonstration to date in Cairo on Tuesday with another mass turnout planned tomorrow (Friday), Some trade unions have thrown their weight behind the opposition cause with a series of strikes.
Rashwan said that the lack of swift progress in the talks and the upsurge in protest has shifted the initiative back to the street.
The Egyptian foreign minister said that Mubarak has not considered stepping down immediately as the demonstrators are demanding because it would lead to chaos and possibly a coup.
"When you have a president who is stepping down, you have one of two possibilities. The demonstrators and the opposition insisting that they compose a government unconstitutional. And then maybe the armed forces would feel compelled to intervene in a more drastic manner," he said. "Do we want the armed forces to assume the responsibility of stabilizing the nation through imposing martial law, and army in the streets? The army is in defence of the borders of the country and the national security of the state. But for the army to rule, to step in, to put its friends on the scene, that would be a very dangerous possibility."
Mr Aboul Gheit has been Egypt's foreign minister for seven years Egypt's foreign minister has rebuffed calls from Washington to speed up the pace of political reform.
Mark Mardell BBC North America editor On the issue of Egypt's emergency law, in place for four decades, Mr Aboul Gheit described himself as "amazed" by Mr Biden's reported comments for it to be lifted.