Foreign diplomats fail to diffuse Egypt Islamist standoff

Supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohammed Morsi in Cairo Efforts by Western and Arab diplomats to mediate an end to Egypt's political deadlock between the interim government and Islamists have failed, the presidency said on Wednesday. "These efforts have not achieved the hoped for results," the presidency said of mediation by US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns and EU envoy Bernardino Leon, among other diplomats who travelled to Cairo.
President Adly Mansour's office warned that the Muslim Brotherhood of ousted President Mohammed Morsi would be held responsible for the consequences of this failure, adding that the period of international efforts that began more than 10 days ago had "ended today".
The state held the Muslim Brotherhood completely responsible for "the failure of these efforts and the later events and developments that might result from this failure related to breaches of the law and endangering civil peace", it added.
The presidential palace thanked American, European, Emirati and Qatari envoys for their efforts in supporting the political roadmap which it claimed would lead Egypt back on the road to democracy.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Egyptian presidency has denounced a statement by US Senator John McCain Monday describing Morsi's ouster as a military coup.
Ahmed el-Muslimani told reporters that the senator had been "clumsy" in his wording. "We reject the American senator's unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of Egyptian affairs.
"John McCain is distorting facts. His clumsy statements are unacceptable in form and substance," he added.
On Tuesday, McCain and fellow senator Lindsey Graham met with army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in the latest leg of a diplomatic attempts defuse a crisis sparked by the army's ouster of Morsi.
At a press conference on Tuesday evening, the two asked Egypt's interim government to set forth a "clear timetable" for holding new elections and finalising a new constitution.
They also urged the government to reconcile with the Muslim Brotherhood and its political allies.
"You have to sit down and talk to each other, even though you may not like the people at the other side of the table," Graham said.
Both senators described the toppling of Morsi as a coup, a term which US President Barack Obama has avoided.
"It was a transition of power not by the ballot box," Graham said. "The people who were elected are now in jail."
Additional source: AFP