Egyptian Officials to Western counterparts: There is No Moving Back

CAIRO (ST) _ Egypt’s Interim President Adli Mansour discussed yesterday with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and with the EU special envoy for Southern Mediterranean and members of the accompanying delegations current conditions in Egypt and view points regarding them.

A statement by the Egyptian Presidency said the two sides hold almost identical views in evaluating and understanding events taking place in Egypt.

Meantime the Egyptian  Ministry  of the Interior warned supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi on Saturday for a second time to abandon their protest camps as a senior U.S. diplomat met with officials on both sides of the country’s political divide.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns extended his visit to Cairo by one day so he could meet military leader Gen. Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi and the country’s prime minister on Sunday, an Egyptian Foreign Ministry official said. A member of the pro-Morsi delegation that met Saturday with Burns said the four delegates also would meet again with the U.S. diplomat on Sunday for more talks, AP reported.

At the core of talks is the political future of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Islamist allies following the July 3 coup that ousted Morsi. The military coup, which followed several days of mass protests by millions of Egyptians demanding his ouster, also led to the dissolution of the Islamist-dominated parliament and the suspension of an Islamist-drafted constitution.

The Brotherhood says it is looking for concessions before beginning talks with their rivals. Such measures could include releasing detained Brotherhood leaders, unfreezing the group’s assets, lifting a ban on its television stations and reigning in the use of force against its protesters.

Tarek el-Malt, who met with Burns and is a member of the Brotherhood-allied Wasat Party, said the delegation insisted that any initiatives for a way out of the crisis must center on the 2012 constitution being restored.

However, Burns and others have signaled that the West has moved on from Morsi’s presidency.

The trip by Burns, his second to Cairo since the coup, comes amid heighted fears of more bloodshed after more than 280 people have been killed nationwide in political violence since Morsi’s removal, AP added.

America’s No. 2 diplomat also held talks Saturday with interim Egyptian President Adli Mansour and Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei, as did the European Union’s special envoy, Bernardino Leon.

Nevine Malak, who attended the same meeting with Burns as el-Malt as part of a delegation representing those against the coup, said the session was mainly for “listening.” She said the group, which includes two members of the Brotherhood’s political wing, would meet Burns again on Sunday.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy also met Burns and said Egyptian officials have made clear to their Western counterparts “there is no moving back.” Fahmy also said the transitional roadmap adopted by the country’s military-backed interim leaders is open to the Brotherhood for participation.

“There have been contacts between different figures, be they in government directly or indirectly, and those among the Brotherhood’s leaders,” Fahmy told journalists. He declined to describe those discussions as “negotiations.”

Fahmy, who served as Cairo’s ambassador to Washington under autocrat Hosni Mubarak, also said that key to the U.S. is “their interests in the region.”

“I think they do that by assessing who’s in power, who’s not in power … and how to deal with that situation given what their interests are,” he said.

While Egyptian authorities say the political sphere is open to Morsi’s allies, they are simultaneously outlining plans to break up the two main sit-ins where thousands of protesters still rally daily for Morsi’s return to power. Authorities plan to set up a cordon around the sites while offering “safe passage” to those willing to leave.

In televised remarks Saturday, Interior Ministry spokesman Hany Abdel-Latif urged Morsi’s supporters to end their protests, saying it would help the Brotherhood’s return to Egypt’s political process. He repeated the offer from the ministry, which is in charge of police, to give a safe exit to those who abandon the sit-ins.

T. Fateh