WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he called his Egyptian counterpart on Thursday to make clear that violence and hundreds of deaths acrossEgypt are putting key elements of the longstanding U.S.-Egyptian defense cooperation at risk.

Hagel said he told Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that the United States remains ready to work with all parties to help achieve a peaceful, inclusive way forward, and the Pentagon would maintain a military relationship with Egypt despite cancelling a bilateral military exercise.

"But I made it clear that the violence and inadequate steps towards reconciliation are putting important elements of our longstanding defense cooperation at risk," Hagel said in a statement.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal-Esa; editing by Jackie Frank)