Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak met Russia's deputy foreign minister on Wednesday in his second high-profile meeting with a foreign diplomat since protests calling for him to step down began more than two weeks ago, DPA reported
Mubarak met Alexander Sultanov, who is also Russia's special Middle East envoy, while protesters continued to camp out in Cairo's Tahrir Square and in front of parliament, demanding his ouster, fresh parliamentary elections and democratic reforms.
Information about the nature of the talks between Mubarak and Sultanov was not immediately available.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that the ongoing protests could only be resolved through dialogue, reacting to an attack on demonstrators in Tahrir by pro-Mubarak protesters, some of whom were later revealed to be paid state security officers.
Russia has called on the United Nations Security Council, of which it is a permanent member, to send a mission to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon to work on stabilizing the whole region.
Mubarak had previously met with the United Arab Emirates' foreign minister, Abdullah ben Zayed al-Nahyan, on Tuesday.