Egypt's Suleiman: Foreigners fuelling protests

The Egyptian government has increasingly spread an image that foreigners are fuelling the turmoil that has gripped its streets.

“When there are demonstrations of this size, there will be foreigners who come and take advantage and they have an agenda to raise the energy of the protesters,” Vice President Omar Suleiman said in an interview on state TV.

Suleiman told journalists he had invited the Muslim Brotherhood to enter negotiations with the government. He said the Brotherhood remains “hesitant” but underlined that it was a “valuable opportunity” for the fundamentalist movement.

The Brotherhood, which calls for an Islamic state in Egypt, is the top political opponent of Mubarak’s regime, which has always rejected any contact with the group and has launched heavy campaigns of arrests against it over past year.

The Brotherhood is among the many disparate anti-Mubarak groups organising the protests, though secular activists have so far dominated the movement. All have rejected any dialogue with the government before Mubarak steps down.