EU top diplomat meets ousted Egyptian president Morsi

The European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met overnight Monday with ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, media reported Tuesday. Ashton's spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said on her Twitter account that Ashton and Morsi had two-hour "in-depth" talks. The former president, deposed on July 3 after massive protests against his rule, is being detained at an undisclosed location. He has not been seen publicly since his ouster. A top Egyptian court ordered Friday detention of Morsi for 15 days for investigations over charges of spying and jailbreak during the 2011 unrest that toppled then president Hosni Mubarak. Ashton, who arrived in Cairo late Sunday, held talks Monday with senior Egyptian officials including interim President Adli Mansour, interim Vice President for International Affairs Mohamed ElBaradei and Defense Minister Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. She also met representatives of the pro-Morsi coalition. According to Egyptian presidential political adviser Mostafa Hegazi, Ashton's visit is not meant to interfere in Egypt's internal affairs, noting that the government appreciates the EU's efforts to ease the escalating tension in Egypt. Ashton has reportedly decided to extend her stay in Egypt for further meetings and to reinforce the EU's message to Cairo. It was Ashton's second visit to Egypt in less than two weeks after the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated President Morsi. She also came as the weekend clashes between Morsi's opponents and loyalists left at least 80 dead and some 800 others injured, mainly in Cairo and Alexandria.