In a maximum-security prison on the outskirts of Cairo, the envoy, William J. Burns, the deputy secretary of state, along with a diplomat from the European Union, met with the Brotherhood’s chief strategist, Khairat al-Shater, one of several Islamist leaders detained over the last month. A State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, said the meeting’s aim was to calm tensions and facilitate “an inclusive dialogue among Egyptians.”
A Brotherhood spokesman, Gehad el-Haddad, said the meeting was brief, was heated at one point and did not result in any immediate breakthrough.
Foreign emissaries have visited Egypt in a steady stream since July 27, when the police and civilian allies fired on a protest by Mr. Morsi’s supporters, killing 80 people, the second mass killing by the security services since the former president’s ouster on July 3. In one respect, the visits have been successful in staving off further bloodshed after the authorities vowed last week to end two large sit-ins by tens of thousands of Mr. Morsi’s supporters.
And the emissaries, including Mr. Burns, are attempting the far more difficult task of advancing negotiations between the military, which directed the ouster of Mr. Morsi, and the Brotherhood, but their positions remain, at least publicly, far apart. Adding to the effort was the expected arrival on Monday of two United States senators, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, both Republicans.
After Mr. Morsi’s ouster, the military began trying to wipe away the memory of his government. It has detained the former president in a location that is kept secret even from those who visit him, and it has given a new cabinet the authority to manage Egypt’s affairs.
The Brotherhood, for its part, has clung to its position that Mr. Morsi must be restored to power as part of any solution, even as some of its leaders privately concede that is not likely.
Ms. Harf said Mr. Burns would stay the week and had set no return date. However, she said Mr. Burns had “no plans” to meet with Mr. Morsi.
Mr. Haddad said that Mr. Shater, who is being held at Al-Aqrab prison, had not been expecting Mr. Burns and the other diplomats, including from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Qatar had been one of Mr. Morsi’s most ardent supporters, while the Emirates have backed the new military-led government with billions of dollars in aid.
“They are trying to find someone to speak to who can loosen the deadlock,” Mr. Haddad said.
After greeting them, Mr. Shater had a “heated confrontation” with one diplomat in the group. “They wanted to discuss the sit-ins,” said Mr. Haddad, who said he had heard an account of the meeting from a relative of a Brotherhood member being held at the prison.
Mr. Shater told the envoys that they would have to negotiate with Mr. Morsi and that any solution would require the restoration of “constitutional legitimacy,” according to Mr. Haddad.
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Mayy El Sheikh contributed reporting. The New York Times