Egypt's Vice President for Foreign Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei met with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton on Monday and said that Egypt is exerting all efforts to reach a peaceful resolution for the current crisis, reported the Middle East News Agency. "Any solutions must be thought out in the framework of respecting the sovereignty of law and state institutions and without threatening the country's security," ElBaradei told Ashton as stated in a presidential press statement. Both sides stressed the importance of ending all forms of violence and including all political forces in the enforcement of the army's roadmap for political transition, which was put forth by the army following its ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July, in order to achieve national consensus. Ashton is also scheduled to meet with interim President Adli Mansour, Defence Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Foreign Affairs Minister Nabil Fahmy. The top EU diplomat will also meet with Muslim Brotherhood representatives to discuss a framework of restoring stability to Egypt, according to the Middle East News Agency. Ashton has issued a statement saying she "deeply deplores" the deaths during recent protests in Egypt and urged all sides to refrain from violence. Source:Aswat Masriya
