Cairo (CNN) -- An Islamist party that once supported Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy met Wednesday with a prominent opposition group to talk about a solution to the political strife that has wracked the country in recent days.
The ultraconservative al-Nour party had backed Morsy and the Muslim Brotherhood, rallying support for the country's new constitution and its emphasis on Sharia law.
Secularists have opposed them.
But on Wednesday, members of al-Nour met with the opposition National Salvation Front, a group composed primarily of non-Islamist parties opposed to Morsy. The two sides are discussing a proposal by al-Nour to end the crisis.
An Egyptian protester throws a tear gas canister toward riot police during clashes outside the Egyptian presidential palace on Friday, February 1, in Cairo. Egypt has been embroiled in violence since last week, the two-year anniversary of an uprising that led to the ouster of then-President Hosni Mubarak.
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Egypt has been embroiled in violence since last Friday after a series of seemingly unrelated events last week. On Wednesday, protesters faced off against police in downtown Cairo, with police clad in riot gear chasing demonstrators into alleys.
The latest anti-government furor stems from a limited state of emergency declared by Morsy that imposes a 30-day curfew on areas of violence, including the provinces of Port Said, Suez and Ismalia along the Suez Canal.
But on Tuesday, Morsy appeared to back off from his orders, allowing local governments to decide whether to impose the curfew.
Critics have accused Morsy, Egypt's first democratically elected president, of hoarding power.
In a speech this week, he acknowledged the legitimate dissent in Egypt, saying "dialogue is the only way to bring about stability and security." He invited representatives from 11 political parties to a meeting to try to solve the conflict.
But Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the Constitution Party and a member of the National Salvation Front, reiterated two demands before the front would engage in dialogue: the formation of a new government and a committee to amend the constitution.
Morsy on Wednesday was in Berlin, where he referred to the strife in his country during a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Egyptian president said he was working to establish constitutional institutions but vowed not to go beyond what he is empowered to do.
"I don't want to use any extraordinary measures in the transitional period, and I would not allow myself or anyone else to go against the law," he said.
His state of emergency declaration and curfew are "only for one month," and the governors in affected areas retain the power to govern as they see fit, Morsy said.
"Egypt will achieve a state of law and order that we all aspire to," he said. "A civil state that is not run by the military, but its civilians with institutions, with democracy and also the transfer of democracy. A modern country in every sense."
On Tuesday, outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the unrest was not surprising. "It's very difficult going from enclosed regime -- essentially one-man rule -- to a democracy that is trying to be born and learn to walk," she told CNN.
The government must represent all of the people; the rule of law must apply to everyone; and the constitution must not marginalize any one group, she said.
"I think the messages and the actions coming from the leadership have to be changed in order to give people confidence that they are on the right path to the kind of future they seek."
CNN's Ben Wedeman in Cairo and Tom Watkins in Atlanta contributed to this report
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A protester holds a smoke flare outside the presidential palace on February 1.
The entrance of Egypt's presidential palace in Cairo is in flames February 1, as protesters battle security forces.
A protester faces off against riot police during clashes near Cairo's Tahrir Square on Wednesday, January 30.
A police officer fires a tear gas canister during clashes with protesters near Tahrir Square on January 30.
Police in plainclothes detain a youth suspected of being a member of the Black Bloc opposition group during a demonstration on January 30 in Cairo.
A protester sprays water into the eyes of a man after his exposure to tear gas during clashes with police near Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday, January 29.
The lobby of Cairo's Semiramis InterContinental Hotel is full of debris on January 29 after protesters stormed the entrance.
An Egyptian man takes part in a rally in Port Said on January 29. Protests in Port Said and nearby cities along the Suez Canal are symbolic because that region was among the first where the Mubarak regime lost control during the 2011 unrest, analysts say.
Mourners carry the coffins of six people killed in clashes after the soccer riot ruling in Port Said on Monday, January 28. Rage exploded when a judge sentenced to death 21 residents of Port Said for roles in a deadly 2012 soccer riot.
Egyptians walk past destroyed cars in Port Said on January 28 following the funeral of those killed in clashes.
A riot police officer clashes with a protester near Cairo's Tahrir Square on January 28.
A protester throws a tear gas canister toward riot police in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Sunday, January 27.
Egyptian policemen and relatives on January 27 gather upon the arrival of the coffins of their colleagues killed in the violence one day earlier in Cairo.
A protester throws a rock toward opposing demonstrators on January 27 in Cairo.
Egyptian protesters throw stones toward riot police on January 27 in Tahrir Square.
An Egyptian protester runs with a live tear gas canister toward Egyptian riot police on Saturday, January 26, in Cairo.
Egyptian fans of Al-Ahly football club celebrate outside the club's headquarters in Cairo on January 26.
Egyptian fans of Al-Ahly football club celebrate outside the club's headquarters in Cairo on January 26.
Egyptian protesters stand by the burning door of a school building on January 26, in Cairo.
An Egyptian protester carries an injured boy away from clashes with Egyptian riot police on January 26, in Cairo.
Egyptians climb over a fence at the Al-Ahly home stadium on January 26 in Cairo.
An Egyptian fan of Al-Ahly football club fires celebratory shots in the air and lights a flare as club supporters celebrate outside its headquarters in Cairo on January 26.
A protester throws a rock at riot police on January 26, in Cairo.
A fan of Al-Ahly football club lights a flare as club supporters celebrate on January 26 in Cairo.
Al-Ahly football club supporters celebrate outside the club's headquarters in Cairo on January 26.
Al-Ahly football club supporters celebrate on January 26.
Smoke billows from a burning vehicle set on fire by Egyptian protesters outside the Port Said prison on January 26.
Egyptians react after the sentencing in Port Said on January 26.
An Al-Ahly soccer fan swings a live flare above his head on January 26 in Cairo.
An Egyptian protester tries to carry an injured man away from clashes with riot police on January 26, in Cairo.
Egyptian fans of Al-Ahly football club rally outside the club's headquarters in Cairo on January 26.
An Egyptian protester runs away from a cloud of tear gas fired by Egyptian riot police on January 26, in Cairo.
Relatives of victims killed during the 2012 Port Said soccer game react after the verdict of the court, at a courthouse in Cairo, on January 26.
Relatives and friends of Egyptian protesters who were killed in Suez during clashes with riot police Friday, load a body onto an ambulance outside the morgue in Suez on January 26.
A fan of Al-Ahly football club lights a flare as club supporters celebrate outside its headquarters in Cairo on January 26.
Two protesters stand on top of a piece of furniture while riot police watch from a nearby rooftop in Cairo.
A protester throws a rock at riot police in Cairo.
An Egyptian protester walks through a cloud of tear gas fired by Egyptian riot police.
An "Ahly-Ultra" soccer fan holds a smoke flare above his head in Cairo.
A protester walks through a damaged school building.
A protester removes the net from a basketball goal in a Cairo schoolyard.
Protesters and football fans clash with riot police near Egypt's interior ministry.
Protesters and fans of Al-Masry football club take part in a demonstration in front of the prison in Port Said.
Egyptian protesters and fans of Al-Masry football club wave their club colors as they take part in a demonstration in front of the prison in the Egyptian Suez Canal city of Port Said on Friday, January 25, calling for the prisoners who are suspected of killing 74 fans of Al-Ahly club during a football match in February 2012 not to be transferred to Cairo to attend their trial. A judge sentenced 21 people to death for their roles in the riot last year.
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