Cairo: Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, said it would begin talks on Sunday with the government to try and end the country's political crisis.
The announcement by the fundamentalist group came on the 13th day of mass demonstrations calling for the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's authoritarian ruler of nearly 30 years. Mubarak has said he would not run for the presidency again in elections slated for September, but has insisted he will serve out the remaining seven months of his current term to supervise a peaceful transfer of power.
The outlawed Brotherhood said in a statement that its representatives would meet with Vice President Omar Suleiman to press for its "legitimate and just demands." Senior Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mursi said that the group was sticking to the protesters' main condition that Mubarak step down. He told The Associated Press that the talks will take place later on Sunday.
These would be the first known discussions between the government and the Brotherhood in years, suggesting the group could be allowed an open political role in the post-Mubarak era. Some opposition leaders met with Suleiman on Saturday but said there was no breakthrough.
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