Cairo, Egypt — The U.S. government announced today it was opening a dialogue with Islamist political parties amid sweeping changes brought on by the Arab Spring and announced it was seeking "limited contacts" with members of Egypt's powerful Muslim Brotherhood.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who recently visited Egypt, said, "It is in the interests of the United States to engage with all parties that are peaceful and committed to nonviolence. We welcome therefore dialogue with those Muslim Brotherhood members who wish to talk with us."
High level diplomats, including Under Secretary of State William J. Burns, were in Cairo this week and held talks with many different leaders of the coalition of movements that took part in the demonstrations, including several leaders of a youth movement within the Muslim Brotherhood
In an interview with PBS FRONTLINE and GlobalPost, Brotherhood leader Essam El-Erian, a likely candidate for parliament, said, "Israel has never lived up to the treaty. We will recognize the treaty when Israel lives up to the treaty."
When asked the question about the Brotherhood's stance toward Israel, El-Erian abruptly ended the interview.
