PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI -- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shied away Sunday from labeling the escalating political turmoil in Egypt as a "foreign crisis situation" for the Obama administration.

"I don't label anything like that, this is a very serious time for Egypt and we are going to do all we can to support an orderly transition to support a situation in which the aspirations of the Egyptians are addressed," Clinton said.

She made the comment while briefing reporters before leaving on a trip to Haiti to assess recovery and political work there after last year's devastating earthquake.

Clinton said that there are "many complexities" because Egypt has been a partner to the U.S. and worked closely with the country to keep peace in the region. She also lauded the Egyptian-Israeli peace agreement.

"We do not want to see a change or a regime that would actually continue to foment violence or chaos -- either because it didn't exist or because it had a different view in which in which to pose on the Egyptian people," she said.

The secretary of state also emphasized the administration wants to convey a clear message about what outcome the U.S. seeks. "And we want to be clear about what we expect. I think that both President Obama and I have done so numerous times," she said.Clinton added there needs to be a commitment, by whomever is in charge, to an international dialogue that takes into account the "legitimate grievances of the Egyptian people" and encourages human rights and economic reforms.

When asked if Egyptian President Mubarak naming two military men as part of the interim government, and if that was the "change" the U.S. administration was seeking, she said they have laid out expectations and "we want to encourage steps to be taken that move us in that direction. And we will keep urging that in public and in private."

Clinton will continue to get briefed on the situation in Egypt, but will spend the remainder of Sunday focusing on Haiti. She'll be in the country on a one day trip meeting with the three presidential candidates and current President Preval, whose term expires February 7. The nation is facing political, economic and health unrest in the wake of the 2010 devastating earthquake.

Fox's Kimberly Schwandt contributed to this report