BECKHAM
03-03-2013, 01:49 PM
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met Sunday with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, pushing for reforms and political unity in the troubled country.
Kerry's talks with the Egyptian leader come a day after meeting with other Egyptian government officials and some opposition politicians.
However, some opposition leaders refused to meet with Kerry Saturday, saying Washington is siding with Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood group in the country's ongoing political struggle.
Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the opposition National Salvation Front, refused to meet with the top U.S. diplomat, as did two other top officials.
Kerry said Saturday he had come to support the Egyptian people and not to take sides in the country's politics.
In another development, Egypt's state news agency reports the appeals court has set April 13 as the date for the re-trial of former president Hosni Mubarak.
In January, a Cairo court granted the ousted president a retrial after he was sentenced to prison for life for the government's killing of protesters during an uprising that ended his three-decade rule in 2011.
Kerry's talks with the Egyptian leader come a day after meeting with other Egyptian government officials and some opposition politicians.
However, some opposition leaders refused to meet with Kerry Saturday, saying Washington is siding with Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood group in the country's ongoing political struggle.
Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the opposition National Salvation Front, refused to meet with the top U.S. diplomat, as did two other top officials.
Kerry said Saturday he had come to support the Egyptian people and not to take sides in the country's politics.
In another development, Egypt's state news agency reports the appeals court has set April 13 as the date for the re-trial of former president Hosni Mubarak.
In January, a Cairo court granted the ousted president a retrial after he was sentenced to prison for life for the government's killing of protesters during an uprising that ended his three-decade rule in 2011.