Cairo, September 11 - Egypt "will not negotiate the welcoming of Egyptian Copts by some European countries with third parties, because it is a purely internal matter", MENA news agency reported presidential spokesperson Yasser Ali as saying on Tuesday. Ali spoke ahead of President Mohamed Morsi's visit to Brussels and Italy, which begins tomorrow. "All Egyptians are equal in their own country. The door of the presidency is open to all", Ali said, adding that Morsi is in constant contact with Egyptian church leaders, that the relationship between Muslims and Copts is close, and that the country does not stand for religious or gender discrimination.
His comments follow on July's controversial news, later denied by the Dutch embassy in Cairo, that Holland would give Egyptian Copts unconditional political asylum.
There are 9 million Copts in Egypt, making up 10% of the population. They have been expatriating in increasing numbers since Morsi, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, was elected.
"We would not accept third party intervention" in what is a purely Egyptian issue, Ali said. Morsi leaves tomorrow night for Brussels, where he is to meet on Thursday with EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso, EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton, and EC President Herman Van Rompuy, Ali said.
