CAIRO
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday criticized the U.S. State Department for hosting an Egyptian opposition delegation that included some members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
"I cannot understand America's justification for hosting them [the members of the delegation], " Shoukry said in a press conference on the sidelines of the African Union summit in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
"We do not understand this type of communication with a group that is involved in terrorist acts to intimidate Egyptians," he added.
He said the Brotherhood was not a political party, but a terrorist organization according to Egyptian law. He added that this law ought to be respected.
"The Brotherhood alone are the only beneficiary of terrorist acts [taking place in Egypt," Shourky said.
"Egypt knows the reality of the situation and others need to realize it as well," he added.
Last week, American diplomats met with a delegation from the Egyptian Revolutionary Council, a group formed by Egyptian opposition figures abroad. The delegation included some leading members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
On Friday, U.S. State Department Spokeswoman, Jennifer Psaki, said that American diplomats "recently met with a group of visiting Egyptian former parliamentarians whose visit to the U.S. was organized and funded by Georgetown University."
"Such meetings are fairly routine at the State Department, where we regularly meet with political party leaders from across the world," she said.
Psaki added that Morsi's ouster was not part of discussions between the State Department officials and the members of the Egyptian opposition delegation.
The Brotherhood was designated as a "terrorist organization" by the Egyptian government in December of 2013.
