Under circumstances that sound straight out of a Le Carre novel, Mohamed Morsi has met with an outsider for the first time since being dumped by Egypt's military, holding a midnight meeting with the European Union's top diplomat at an "undisclosed location" last night, the Wall Street Journal. Though many have feared for Morsi's well-being after almost a month in captivity, Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign affairs and security policy chief, reports that he is well and has access to TV and newspapers, Reuters reports. The pair had a "very long and in-depth conversation," Ashton says.
Ashton, who has met with several other Egyptian political figures while in the country, says she wasn't there to help Morsi break out, but rather to facilitate discussions toward a peaceful end to the country's political unrest, the Washington Post reports. "First of all, we are here to help. We are not here to impose," she says. "The people of Egypt will determine their own future." But will Morsi play ball? "He's a very proud man," says a source close to the former leader, per the Journal. "I think the idea of doing anything on (the) army's terms will not work with him." (More Mohamed Morsi stories.)