German FM arrives in Cairo on first visit since Morsi's ouster

German FM arrives in Cairo on first visit since Morsi

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle arrived in Cairo Wednesday evening on his first visit to Egypt since the ouster of elected President Mohamed Morsi.

Germany's top diplomat arrived on a private plane from Berlin accompanied by a number of senior officials, sources at Cairo airport told the AA.

Westerwelle is expected to discuss the political situation in Egypt with interim President Adly Mansour, Vice-President Mohamed ElBaradei, army chief and Defense Minister Gen Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Elaraby.

A press conference is scheduled for Thursday following talks between Westerwelle and Fahmy.

A diplomatic source told the AA earlier that the German minister also planned to meet a number of Muslim Brotherhood leaders.

Egyptian authorities have yet to provide details about Westerwelle's visit.

There has been no official comment from the Muslim Brotherhood regarding a possible meeting with the top German diplomat.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for Morsi's release, urging all parties in Egypt to resolve the current political crisis through dialogue.

Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, was ousted by the army on July 3 after demonstrations against him.

He has not been seen in public since and his whereabouts have not been disclosed.

A high-level African delegation led by Alpha Oumar Konaré, former Malian president and former African Union chairman, and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton met with the deposed leader separately on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

PHOTO CAPTION

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle

Anadolu Agency

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