Egyptian government to hold talks with opposition group

CAIRO - The Egyptian government will hold talks with the Muslim Brotherhood, after the opposition group agreed to a dialogue with Vice President Omar Suleiman in a bid to end the country’s political turmoil, officials said.

Suleiman will meet members of Muslim Brotherhood Sunday, officials from the brotherhood told reporters.

The topics will be centered on power transition and the future of the country, Xinhua reported.

The group, which had been rejecting the government’s offer for talks, changed its mind after the top executive committee of Egypt’s ruling National Democratic Party, including President Hosni Mubarak’s son Gamal Mubarak, resigned Saturday, the 12th day of Egypt’s unrest that saw fewer protesters in Cairo’s downtown Tahrir square.

The resignation of the ruling party leadership was Mubarak’s latest move to appease protesters demanding his resignation as president.

Before the Muslim Brotherhood, two other main Egyptian opposition parties - El Wafd and El Tagammu - consented to dialogues with the new cabinet Saturday.

Earlier, the Muslim Brotherhood and top opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei said that they would not accept any dialogue before the immediate departure of Mubarak.

Mubarak announced Tuesday that he did not intend to run for next term, but he insisted on staying in power until his term ends after presidential elections in September.