Ashton calls on all Egyptian parties to join political process

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday stressed the importance of inclusive political transition at the end of her three-day visit to Egypt. She pointed out that "inclusiveness means trying to involve everyone," in a clear reference that the Muslim Brotherhood should be involved in the reconciliation process. Ashton's visit that was the third since the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi raised speculations among Egyptians that she came with a new initiative to reach settlement between the interim government and Muslim Brotherhood. However, the representative of pro-Morsi National Alliance to Support Legitimacy, Amr Darag, denied that Ashton offered any initiative for settlement and said she only discussed with them the current situation. Representative of Nour party Ashraf Thabet told independent Newspaper al-Masry el-Youm that Ashton failed to convince the Muslim Brotherhood to join the political process or to dispense with their request to reinstate Mohamed Morsi. At the same time, some Egyptian activists and movements accused Ashton of meddling in Egyptian affairs. During a press conference on Thursday, Ashton insisted that the EU will not meddle in the Egyptian affairs, adding that her visit only aimed at holding talks with Egyptian officials on the country 's economic and political situation. Ashton hailed as "important" the relations binding Egypt and the EU, reiterating that the EU wishes to build on and promote these relations. She stressed that the EU is a strong partner to Egypt and is working with the government and civil society organizations to seek the best ways to support Egyptians, particularly the most needy. In her meeting with Amr Moussa, the head of a 50-member panel tasked with amending the constitution, Ashton underlined the importance of the principle of inclusiveness to ensure that the political future of Egypt is in the hands of the Egyptian people. Presidential spokesman Ihab Badawy said on Thursday that Ashton 's visit comes as part of preparation for EU foreign ministers' talks on Oct. 21, state-run MENA news agency reported. Badawy added Ashton asserted support for the roadmap for Egypt' s transitional period and hailed the government effort to communicate with all active political parties and forces in the country. Ashton also met with First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who led the overthrow of Morsi in July, during which they discussed means of boosting cooperation and latest political developments. She expressed concern over the situation in Sinai, where the Egyptian army is launching high-scale operations against terrorist groups who killed dozens of army and police soldiers.