ElBaradei says optimistic after Egypt crisis meeting

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Adoustour party leader Mohamed ElBaradei (C) joins protesters during a march against President Mohamed Mursi's decree, at Shubra district in Cairo November 27, 2012.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian liberal politician Mohamed ElBaradei said he was optimistic after a meeting called by the country's top Islamic scholar to try to end a political crisis and street protests in which more than 50 people have been killed.

"We come out of this meeting with a type of optimism," ElBaradei told journalists after the meeting called by Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the head of Al-Azhar mosque and university. "Each of us will do what we can, with goodwill, to build trust once again among the factions of the Egyptian nation."

Attendees, including the Muslim Brotherhood, signed a document renouncing violence at the meeting. They also agreed to set up a committee grouping rival parties to pave the way for more dialogue, attendees said after the meeting.

(Cairo newsroom)