On Sunday afternoon US Ambassador Anne Patterson met with representatives of the Wafd Party at their headquarters in Dokki, Giza. Ahmed Mahmoud Attallah, a party member, spoke from the party headquarters, saying that Patterson sat down with the party’s high committee. Afterwards, the high committee directed their members not to speak about the contents of the meeting.
David Lynfield, spokesman for the US embassy in Cairo said, “The Ambassador frequently has meetings with Egyptian parties from across the political spectrum.” When it was pointed out that this is a sensitive time for US representatives to meet with Egyptian political parties, Lynfield refused to comment.
Media reports earlier in the day said that Patterson would be meeting with other members of the National Rescue Front, but representatives from other parties made sure to say that they were not present.
Hussein Gohar, of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, said his party had not been contacted by the Americans. Ramia Azab, spokesperson for Mohamed ElBaradei, explicitly stated that ElBaradei was not at the Wafd party meeting. Hossam Mo’ness, a founding member of the Popular Current, said no one from the group will be meeting with the ambassador.
