The National Salvation Front (NSF), Egypt's main opposition coalition, issued a statement on Monday evening welcoming a statement issued earlier the same day by the country's armed forces regarding Egypt's precarious political standoff.

"The statement has shown that the armed forces cannot give up on protecting the people," read the NSF statement, adding that the army had stressed its "respect for democracy" and had no interest in governance.

On Sunday, Egypt's military establishment issued a statement giving political forces 48 hours to "meet the people's demands" or be presented with a military-imposed "roadmap" for Egypt's political future.  

The NSF added that the military's position as expressed in its statement was in accordance with "what the NSF believes in and what the public has clearly articulated... which is the ouster of the oppressive regime made by the Muslim Brotherhood."

The NSF statement added that the upcoming transitional phase must aim to build "a democratic, modern, civil state."

"While we ask the people to continue their peaceful protests and sit-ins in squares across Egypt, we affirm our full trust in the military, its loyalty to its honourable history, and its sacred duty to defend the nation," the statement added.