Supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi said early today they would continue to insist on his reinstatement after talks with US Under Secretary of State William Burns.
The US envoy's visit, which follows trips by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, comes as the international community pushes Morsi loyalists and the army-installed interim government to reach a compromise.
But in a statement issued early today, the political arm of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood said they were committed to "legitimacy, which stipulates the return of the president, the constitution and the Shura Council," referring to the upper house of parliament.
The statement from the Freedom and Justice Party said a delegation of representatives from the coalition of Islamist groups calling for Morsi's reinstatement had met with Burns yesterday morning.
"We affirm our welcome of any political solutions proposed on the basis of constitutional legitimacy and rejection of the coup," the statement said.
Morsi's supporters have insisted since his July 3 ouster that they would not accept any resolution to the country's crisis that did not include his reinstatement.
Their latest declaration suggested that Burns's visit, coming on the heels of other international efforts, had failed to shift that position.
The group's statement also slammed US Secretary of State John Kerry for recent comments in an interview in Pakistan in which he said Egypt's military had been "restoring democracy" when it ousted Morsi.
It said demonstrations would remain peaceful and condemned acts of violence, including a string of incidents in the Sinai peninsula, where Egyptian security forces have come under near-daily attack.
Morsi is being held at an undisclosed location on allegations related to his escape from prison during the 2011 uprising that overthrew his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak.
