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The US Department of State announced its officials will not meet with a delegation of Muslim Brotherhood members who are currently visiting US capital, Washington.
“With respect to this delegation, the State Department is not planning a meeting with the visiting delegation,” State Department spokesperson Jeff Rathke told journalists Tuesday.
The visit stirred controversy as informed sources told Daily News Egypt that the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the US Ambassador in Egypt to show displeasure over the visit.
A Muslim Brotherhood delegation visited Washington, and included former presidential advisor Wael Haddara, and leader and former minister of planning with the Brotherhood’s political arm, the now dissolved Freedom and Justice Party, Amr Darrag, according to the US think tank Washington Institute. The think tank’s fellow, Eric Trager, advised the US administration against meeting with the figures or engaging with the organisation.
However, Rathke asserted that not meeting with the Brotherhood figures during this visit does not mean a change in US policy towards the now-outlawed group.
“We’ve met with this group in the past. We haven’t changed our policy. We will continue to meet with groups across the political spectrum, but we don’t have any plans to meet with this group at this particular time,” he said.
