Senior Egyptian opposition leaders to snub John Kerry

Sabahi (L) and ElBaradei (C) say they will not give in to US pressure Senior leaders from Egypt's opposition National Salvation Front (NSF) have turned down invitations to meet US Secretary of State John Kerry when he visits Cairo over the weekend, AFP reports.
Hamdeen Sabahi, a leader of the National Salvation Front (NSF), said late Thursday that he and fellow member Mohamed ElBaradei objected to Washington's call for the opposition to reconsider its boycott of Egypt's parliamentary election in April.
"I received an invitation and turned it down, and Dr ElBaradei received an invitation and he turned it down," Sabahi said in an interview with ONTV television channel.
"We want to send a message that we reject American pressure," Sabahi added.
It was not immediately clear whether other members of the NSF, a loosely knit coalition, would meet Kerry.
The opposition has sought to ratchet the pressure on Islamist President Mohammed Morsi with a combination of street protests and a boycott of the election, which will be held over three months.
The opposition has complained of what it sees as US support for Morsi, whom some NSF members backed in last June's election against ousted leader Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq.
But they now accuse Morsi of having betrayed the values of the uprising which overthrew Mubarak in early 2011 and having sidelined liberals and Christians since he took power.
US President Barack Obama last week told Morsi in a phone conversation that he welcomed his "commitment" to represent all Egyptians but encouraged him and the opposition to find common ground.
On Thursday, Kerry attended the Friends of Syria meeting in Rome and announced that America will provide the Free Syria Army with $60m in aid to support them in overthrowing the current government.
His get-acquainted tour, the first since taking over from Hillary Clinton last month, includes stops in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.