Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr on Monday to underscore US hopes that Egypt's political crisis can be resolved in a democratic manner, the State Department said.

Clinton reiterated US concerns about Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy's decision to assume sweeping powers and checked in on the progress of discussions between Morsy and senior judges on the way forward, State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told a news briefing.

"The secretary underscored the importance of settling these disputes in a democratic manner, so we look forward to seeing the outcome of that (discussion)," Nuland said.

"We want to see the constitutional process move forward in a way that does not overly concentrate power in one set of hands," Nuland said.

She said Clinton also used the phone call to follow up on Gaza, where Egypt brokered a truce after a week of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians.