Washington: The US State Department played down contacts involving France and the Palestinian militant movement Hamas but said such contacts were generally not "wise or appropriate."

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters yesterday that not only did he understand that a retired private French citizen had met with Hamas officials but that France s overall policy toward Hamas had not changed.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed a report in Le Figaro newspaper that a retired former French diplomat had met Hamas leaders Ismail Haniya and Mahmud Zahar last month in Gaza.

McCormack said the French "subscribe to the policy that Hamas must live up to the requirements of the quartet declaration in London," referring to the quartet of the United States, European Union, Russia and the United States.

The quartet has drafted a road map for peace that calls for the Palestinians to halt violence against Israel as part of plans for a separate Palestinian state that will live alongside a secure Israel.

And the United States and the European Union refuse talks with Hamas, which they consider a terrorist organization, unless it renounces violence and recognizes Israel s right to exist.

Asked if the United States would have preferred not to see such contacts, McCormack replied: "We make clear that we don't think that a contact with Hamas is something that brings peace any closer to the people of the Middle East.

"We don t believe it s wise or appropriate either, again. But private individuals will make their own decisions. We can counsel otherwise, but ultimately it's going to be up to them to make their own decisions," he said.

Source : PTI