国际英语新闻:EU's Ashton says Egypt's Morsi in good health, has access to news

CAIRO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said Tuesday in Cairo that Egypt's deposed President Mohamed Morsi, who she met late Monday, is in good health and has access to the news.

"He is well and has access to the news," Ashton said in a televised press conference on state-run Nile TV, noting that she does not know the location where Morsi is held.

Describing the talks with Morsi as "friendly, open and warm," Ashton refused to disclose any further details about their meeting.

She particularly stressed that she did not discussed with him the idea of "safe exit."

As her request to see Morsi was not granted in her last visit on July 17, Ashton set meeting with the ousted leader a condition for her current trip to Egypt. "I said that I wouldn't come unless I could see him and that was freely offered to me."

She emphasized her desire to meet all sides to find a common ground for her mediating efforts. "We want to help facilitate bringing together the ideas."

Also, she stressed that her visit to Egypt is not to dictate any side but to help find a solution to the ongoing crisis on the ground.

"There is no field for violence or dissent, and demonstrations should be peaceful," she said.

Over the mediation efforts by the EU and the initiatives that Ashton proposed to end violence and resolve the crisis, interim Vice President for International Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei stressed the EU is presenting help, but violence and terrorizing citizens should be stopped first.

In a joint press conference, ElBaradei denied contacts with Muslim Brotherhood (MB) currently, giving priority to stopping violence but asserting his readiness for negotiations with all factions, including the MB.

He said that the political and security solutions should work in parallel, but the political one should take the precedence.

ElBaradei said the government should work to stop all acts of violence and find all possible means to reach a peaceful solution, stressing that violence is not a solution to the present situation.

Meanwhile, he said ousted President Morsi has no place after June 30. "Morsi failed to run the political process over the past period, and he won't be part of the future negotiations for national reconciliation."

But he said "that doesn't mean the exclusion of MB from the political life in Egypt."

"As long as we have started to stop violence, the road will be open to dialogue," he added.

For her part, Ashton said she is optimistic about the present situation in Egypt. "I had a conversation with Dr. Morsi, but I can't represent what he said, because it will be contradictory to my mission in Egypt," she said, refusing to comment on the talks.

"Egyptians should move forward," she said, underlining the need for stopping all acts of violence in the country.

All political factions should be united to find the way to the future and achieve national reconciliation, she added.

During the meeting with Ashton, Salafist Al-Nour party, a former ally of MB, stressed the importance of containing all the political factions in the political process, warning against isolation.

Al-Nour asserted the necessity of keeping the constitution which underwent an Egyptian referendum.

It also warned against pursuing and detaining the Islamic figures or the parties which rejected what happened in June 30, underlining the dangerousness of the aggressive practices of the interior ministry over the protesters and then giving it a legal frame.

Ashton, who arrived in Cairo on Sunday evening, was given access to Morsi late Monday. Her spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said on Twitter that the two had two-hour "in-depth" talks.

Morsi has been detained since the military deposed him on July 3 in response to millions of protesters' demand. He is held incommunicado at an unknown location which Egyptian officials said is safe.

After his ouster, investigations were ordered for him on the charge of spying for foreign bodies, including Islamic Hamas movement in Gaza, to gain assistance in his prison escape during the 2011 unrest that toppled then President Hosni Mubarak.

Ashton has been making contacts with Egypt's military-backed interim government and the MB, with which Morsi is affiliated, in a bid to mediate national reconciliation in the turmoil-hit country.

Her current visit to Egypt, which has been extended to Tuesday, is second of its kind in less than two weeks after the fall of Morsi.

The deposed leader's supporters have been camping out at Rabaa Al Adawiya Square in Cairo, condemning the military's move as "a coup" and vowing not to leave the site until Morsi returns to power.

Clashes between pro- and anti-Morsi protesters have so far resulted in more than 200 deaths since early July, according to official figures. On the eve of Ashton's arrival, conflicts between the two sides left at least 80 dead and some 800 others injured.

On Monday, Ashton held talks with senior Egyptian officials, including interim President Adli Mansour, ElBaradei and Defense Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. She also met representatives of the pro-Morsi coalition.

During the meetings, she urged all sides to "think carefully" about the way to include "all" in the political process in order to build a "deep democracy."

According to Egyptian presidential advisor Mostafa Hegazi, Ashton's visit is not meant to interfere in Egypt's internal affairs, and the government appreciates the EU's efforts to ease the escalating tension in the country.