CAIRO, Jun 30 (Aswat Masriya) - Egypt said on Thursday that Italy’s decision to halt warplane supplies to Egypt is “inconsistent” with the level of “cooperation” between authorities in both countries who are working to unveil the circumstances of Giulio Regeni’s death.

The 28-year-old Italian researcher, Regeni, went missing in Cairo on Jan. 25, 2016, which marked the fifth anniversary of the popular uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak.

Ten days later, his body was found, bearing signs of torture, in a roadside ditch on the outskirts of Cairo.

The reasons behind Regeni’s death are still unknown, and Italy has complained on several occasions about the pace of the investigation into the case and Egypt’s purported lack of cooperation. 

The Italian Senate voted on Wednesday to halt supplies of spare part for F16 warplanes to Egypt, marking the first commercial measures taken against Cairo, Reuters reported. 

Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that it is “uncomfortable” with the decision and said it will keep monitoring developments in this regard. It also expressed "keenness" to maintain relations at a level that serves the interests of both countries.

The move "is not consistent with the level of cooperation that has existed between investigative authorities in both countries since the beginning of the incident, and the special relationship that combines the two countries at all levels."

Since Regeni’s death, Egypt has maintained that it is sparing "no effort" with regard to the investigation and is cooperating with “full transparency” on the case. 

In an interview with Italy's La Repubblica newspaper in March, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi vowed to “continue to work with the Italian authorities to arrest the perpetrators” and bring them to justice. 

But as Egypt failed to meet Italy’s expectations, Italy threatened to take measures if the truth didn't transpire and has in fact recalled its ambassador to Cairo last April.

The Italian foreign ministry said then in a statement “urgent decisions are needed on the most proper actions to bolster efforts aimed at finding the truth about the barbaric murder of Giulio Regeni.”