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Islamist allies of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi are secretly discussing a face-saving deal in which he could be released from detention and allowed to officially resign from his position.
A source close to crisis talks currently taking place between opposing sides in Cairo said that options being considered, include allowing Morsi to announce his resignation in a televised address and formerly hand his executive powers to interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi.
He said that another possibility is that Morsi could be released and flown into exile, adding that they were negotiating to find a dignified exit for him.
According to the Independent, the news comes as Egypt's most senior security body warned that negotiations to solve the current crisis were not open-ended.
The National Defence Council, a group which includes interim President Adly Mansour and army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, also said that a political settlement would not protect law-breakers from retribution, the report said.
Over the weekend Muslim Brotherhood met with European and US envoys in a bid to reach at concessions package to end the standoff.
If the negotiations are successful, western governments fear Egypt's security services will try to clear the thousands of pro-Morsi protesters camped out in Cairo.
According to the report, an EU official said that Morsi's allies appeared willing to sacrifice the his return for a deal whereby arrested Brotherhood officials would be released from detention and allowed to return safely to their homes.
Those officials would then be told to refrain from political activism.
