U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns is currently on a trip to Egypt in a bid to end the ongoing unrest and urge the country's new military-backed government to hand over power to a "democratically elected civilian government."
William Burns flew to Egypt Sunday to hold talks with leaders of the newly formed military-backed government in the country, according to the U.S. State Department.
"The goal of his trip is to engage with and hear directly from interim Egyptian officials and civil society as part of our ongoing efforts to see Egypt transition to an inclusive, pluralistic, democratically elected civilian government," said Jen Psaki, spokeswoman of the State Department.
The Egyptian military ousted President Mohamed Morsi July 3, and put him under house arrest following protests by millions of Egyptians demanding his resignation.
Washington last week broke its silence over the matter and called upon the Egyptian military to release the ousted president from detention.
The call came just hours after Germany made a request for his release. The Obama administration broke its silence amid fears of more clashes and deaths as tens of thousands of Pro-Morsi supporters came out into the streets on the first day of Ramadan, demanding Morsi's reinstatement.
"An inclusive and sustainable democracy where all sectors of society, where all Egyptian people are fully represented, will represent all sides. And we feel that includes of course the Muslim Brotherhood and other representatives that have been detained," said Jen Psaki, according to the Voice of America.
Burns' visit to the country is the first by a senior U.S. diplomat since the army ousted the Islamist president amid protests against political upheaval and economic stagnation under his government.
The U.S. State Department said the senior official's trip would "underscore US support for the Egyptian people, an end to all violence and a transition leading to an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government".
Dozens of lives have been lost in the series of clashes between anti and pro supporters of Morsi in the past two weeks.