Egypt leaders: Diplomacy is over

In what may be a portent of a coming confrontation, Egypt's military-appointed interim government declared Wednesday that efforts by foreign envoys to mediate the country's crisis in Egypt have failed, blaming the impasse on the Muslim Brotherhood which has rallied for the reinstatement of President Mohamed Morsi since his July 3 ouster.

"Today ends the phase of diplomatic efforts, which began more than 10 days ago,” the interim government said in a statement carried on state news agency MENA. "The Egyptian state ... holds the Muslim Brotherhood fully responsible for the failure of those efforts (by foreign envoys) and what may be the consequences of this failure."

The remarks follow a call by Qatar's Foreign Minister Khaled al-Attiya to release members of the Muslim Brotherhood from jail.

"My wish for the brothers in Egypt is to release the political prisoners as soon as possible because they are the key to unlocking this crisis," said al-Attiya. "Without a serious dialogue with all the parties, and most importantly with the political prisoners because they are the main element in this crisis, I believe things will be difficult."

Qatar had been Egypt's major financial beneficiary under Brotherhood rule, providing about $7 billion in aid before Morsi was ousted, Reuters reported.

Al-Attiya’s comments come amid visits to Cairo by U.S. senators John McCain, R-Ariz, and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who followed foreign envoys from Europe, Africa and several Gulf Arab states visiting Egypt in the past month in vain attempts at forging a compromise in the increasingly violent standoff.

Whereas Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier drawn criticism for branding the July 3 ouster of Morsi a "restoration of democracy", McCain and Graham told The Daily Beast they considered it a military coup. Characterizing it as such could trigger the application of U.S. law that would mandate a cutoff of the $1.3 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Egypt, and the senators' comments caused an uproar in the Egyptian media and drew a strong reply from the acting president.

McCain said "these folks are just days or weeks away from all-out bloodshed" if efforts to find a political solution fail.

Thousands of pro-Morsi protesters have camped out in Cairo, demanding the reinstatement of the elected leader, and rejecting proposals by the interim leadership. They say several of their political leaders have been detained illegally, including Morsi himself.

The EU's foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton and an African Union delegate, former Malian President Alpha Oumar Konare, last week both managed to secure meetings with Morsi and reported he was in good health.

On Aug. 1, the interim leadership first warned those protesting it had authorized police to break up rallies in "gradual steps."

Al Jazeera and wire services