Egypt's presidency contacts political forces

CAIRO - Egyptian Presidency started making contacts with different political sides, including the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) group and other Islamist forces, to discuss with them the national reconciliation, the presidency's media advisor Ahmed al-Moslmany said in press statement Tuesday.

"Such contacts are being run by me and President's political advisor Mostafa Hegazy," Moslmany said, expecting "most Islamist forces" to join the reconciliation.

Moslmany noted that the reconciliation efforts have an ethical frame and a theoretical one. "The ethical frame means that the presidency's hands are open for all, while the theoretical one aims at unifying all political forces under one banner."

"The reconciliation aims at achieving the social peace," he stressed.

As the interim Prime Minister Hazem al-Beblawi, who was appointed last week, is currently putting the final touch on the Cabinet formation, Moslmany said that Salafist Nour Party and MB's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) have been offered some portfolios.

"After announcing the cabinet, the Prime Minister will explain what to happen when both parties are offered some ministerial portfolios," said Moslmany.

Meanwhile, member of MB's guidance bureau Gamal Heshmat told Xinhua that "the group has no communications tunnels with any side in power now, because we don't recognize any power resulted from a military coup", referring to the ouster of the group-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi.

"No one contacted us to offer ministerial portfolios because we refuse the principle of contacting," he said.

MB group are in an open sit-in in Rabia al-Adaweya Square, urging the return of the ousted President Morsi who was overthrown by the army on July 3. Analysts consider such stubbornness as " fatal" to the group's political future.