Egypt's ElBaradei, Islamists reject govt talks offer

Prominent opposition activist Mohamed ElBaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood rejected a call today by the prime minister for talks saying President Hosni Mubarak must leave office first, they said.

Prominent opposition activist Mohamed ElBaradei and the Muslim Brotherhood rejected a call on Thursday by the prime minister for talks saying President Hosni Mubarak must leave office first, they said.

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Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq invited opposition groups to talks on Thursday. Al Jazeera and others reported that some groups had agreed, including the liberal, nationalist Wafd party, which is a legal party. The Brotherhood is banned.

"We have refused to meet. Any negotiations are conditional on Hosni Mubarak stepping down and also conditional on security in Tahrir square," ElBaradei said.

"We would also like to add that we refuse anything that results from this meeting," said Mohammed al-Beltagi, a former member of parliament from the Brotherhood, adding that his group backed the conditions outlined by ElBaradei.