Obama calls for clarity after Mubarak's speech

By the CNN Wire Staff

Editor's note: Read the full text of President Barack Obama's Thursday-night statement on Egypt.

(CNN) - President Barack Obama signaled clear support for protesters who have convulsed Egypt, saying Thursday night that "in these difficult times, I know that the Egyptian people will persevere, and they must know that they will continue to have a friend in the United States of America."

In a White House statement following a previously unscheduled meeting of Obama with this national security team, the president called President Hosni Mubarak's speech earlier in the night that announced he would hand over presidential authority to his vice president but remain in office both confusing and insufficient.

"The Egyptian people have been told that there was a transition of authority, but it is not yet clear that this transition is immediate, meaningful or sufficient," Obama said in the statement, later adding that the Egyptian government "must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity."

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