US ambassador talks to Egypt's ElBaradei
2011-02-01 17:25
Washington - The US ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey spoke by telephone to top dissident Mohamed ElBaradei on Tuesday, as anti-government protests reached a new peak in Cairo, a US official told AFP.
Scobey's conversation with ElBaradei, the veteran international diplomat who has become the leading public critic of President Hosni Mubarak, came as part of her outreach to various opposition groups, the official said.
She delivered a similar message to ElBaradei on the current crisis that American officials have been delivering in public: namely that Washington wants a political transition but will not seek to dictate Egypt's political future.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the phone call represented Scobey's first contact with ElBaradei since he returned to his country four days ago as anti-government protests mounted.
