Washington: Jimmy Carter's meeting with exiled Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Damascus left the former US president "vulnerable to exploitation" by Syria, the US State Department said. Carter attended the controversial meeting with Meshaal in the Syrian capital despite strong opposition from Israel and the White House, which along with the European Union has blacklisted Hamas as a terror group despite winning Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006.

Carter, who is on a regional tour to promote Middle East peace, earlier met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Carter s Damascus meetings could be misconstrued by people in Syria. "I suppose that's the risk one takes when they decide to take a step in meeting with somebody like Khaled Meshal in Syria, that ... One leaves oneself vulnerable to exploitation by the Syrian government of these kinds of meetings," McCormack told reporters.

"You have a real opportunity to have a real negotiation between the Israelis and the Palestinians that can lead to the reality of a Palestinian state," he said. "You re not going to get there by going down the other pathway, which is represented by Haas and other rejectionist groups who are responsible for the murders of countless innocent civilians."

The White House also promptly dismissed the Carter-Meshaal meeting. "I think we made our feelings known going in as to whether it was something we though was wise or not, and I think we fell on the side of not," spokesman Tony Fratto said.

Source : PTI