The Muslim Brotherhood said on
Thursday it had proposed through an EU go-between a framework for talks to
resolve Egypt's political crisis, its first formal announcement of an offer for
negotiations since President Mohamed Mursi was toppled.
Brotherhood official Gehad el-Haddad, who
represented the movement in previous EU-facilitated talks, told Reuters the
proposal had been made to envoy Bernardino Leon before a visit on Wednesday by
EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.
Leon confirmed he had offered the European
Union's "good offices" to help resolve the crisis, although he said
the term "mediator" exaggerated the role.
The proposal, as described by Haddad, was
still in its early stages. He did not give details, described it as only a
"framework" for opening a channel of dialogue, and insisted on the
Brotherhood's firm demand that the July 3 "coup" that brought down
Mursi be reversed.
On another note, Egypt's central bank said it received $3 billion in aid from the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, part of $12 billion that Gulf Arab states pledged after the military ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi early this month.
Central bank governor Hisham Ramez said in a text message to Reuters that the aid had arrived.
The UAE said last week that it would provide Egypt with $1 billion as a grant and a $2 billion loan in the form of an interest-free central bank deposit. Saudi Arabia pledged $5 billion and Kuwait, $4 billion.
On another note, the European Union's top foreign
policy official Catherine Ashton urged Egypt's interim leaders and supporters
of the ousted Islamist president on Wednesday to cooperate in a political
process that moves the country toward democracy.
But Mohammed Morsi's backers
expanded their protests in Cairo, denouncing the new government and casting
doubt on the prospects for reconciliation.
Morsi supporters protested in
their thousands outside the Rabaa el-Adawiya mosque.
"We neither consider (recognize)
the interim cabinet nor the interim president. This was a military coup
therefore we do not consider (recognize) any decision based on that coup,"
said Morsi supporter Mazen Gamal.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton was the second foreign dignitary to visit Egypt this week, and the first
to meet with Muslim Brotherhood officials since the 3 July ouster, which
followed mass protests calling for Morsi to step down.
Ashton also met with interim
President Adly Mansour, his vice president Mohammed ElBaradei, army chief General
Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and members of Tamarod, or Rebel, the movement that
sparked the huge demonstrations against Morsi's year-old rule.
Ashton said she stressed in all
her meetings the need for a political process that includes all sides, but acknowledged
that the players are deeply divided.
"Building on the statements
that I've made and the many phone conversations I've had with people here, the
importance of a very inclusive process to ensure that this country, as it does
belong to everyone here, that people can feel they are participating in
that," she told reporters at the end of her one-day visit to Cairo.
"Not surprisingly, I've
heard different views and different thoughts. But, the main message I wanted to
give was of the need for those principles and values to govern the future of
this country, to support that political process. And to support the economy of
Egypt as well."
Ashton also said she has asked
for the release of Morsi, who has been held in an undisclosed military facility
since his ouster.
Morsi has not been charged with
any crimes, although five of the top Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been
detained and accused, among other things, of inciting violence.
On the field:
Egypt's Interior Ministry says suspected militants have killed three
policemen and seriously wounded two in an attack in the Sinai Peninsula.
The
ministry said in a statement that the attack took place
late Wednesday night in the volatile northern part of Sinai.
That
part of the mostly desert peninsula has been mired in lawlessness and
violence since the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
On Wednesday, militants fired at a conscript on duty outside a police station in North Sinai's capital, el-Arish, killing him, security officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to address reporters. They said the 23-year old conscript was killed by snipers.
Attacks
on security forces dramatically increased since the overthrow on July 3
of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. Critics of the former leader see
this as evidence of his suspected links to militants in the peninsula.
The
area, which borders Gaza and Israel, was the scene last August of an
attack that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers. Militants were also blamed for
that attack.
AP/REUTERS
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