A GROUP of former US officials and foreign policy experts have urged President Barack Obama to suspend aid to Egypt, as the White House looked to balance support for its long-time Middle East ally with its endorsement of wider democratic freedoms.

Other former officials said it was only a matter of time before the US would have to insist that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step aside in a bid to end the crisis.

The calls came as Mr Obama met with his national security team and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prepared to face Sunday's TV talk shows to put the administration's case. The non-partisan Working Group on Egypt, called for the US to suspend its more than $1 billion of annual aid until Egypt agreed to hold free elections.

The group, supported by several prestigious US think tanks also called on Egypt ''to lift immediately its state of emergency, release political prisoners and allow for freedom of media and assembly''. Yesterday, the administration continued to urge restraint, though offered little further response to the developments.

''I think it's a very fluid situation,'' said Bill Daley, the President's chief of staff. ''We look forward to seeing some stability and peace on the streets [of Cairo].'' Over the past three decades, during which time it has been under a continuous state of emergency, Egypt has been the second biggest recipient of US aid after Israel.

The bulk of the $1.5 billion given in 2010 went towards military hardware. Economic aid accounted for around $300 million.

Former defence secretary William Cohen, a Republican who served in the Clinton administration, said the US was anxious not to lose an ally that had been a partner for peace in the region. But he warned that Mr Mubarak's moves so far would not be enough ''to satisfy those in the streets''. There was some scepticism about whether Mr Mubarak would take his instructions exclusively from Washington. Jon Alterman, of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told CBS: ''I don't think there are many people in the world who Hosni Mubarak is listening to right now and certainly don't think he's curious what the Americans think he should do.''