France on Friday endorsed Russia's decision to conduct talks on the Middle East conflict with Hamas, the radical Islamist Palestinian group, saying the discussion "can contribute to advancing our positions."
Other European countries distanced themselves from the French statement, which appeared to be in defiance of the US and European view that Hamas is a terrorist organization and therefore should not be recognized.
Israel condemned it. But the US took a more cautious approach.
"Our position is not to tell the whole world that they can't talk to Hamas," said a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "That would be hard to enforce. The issue is less who's talking than what they are saying."
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was considering inviting Hamas, the winner of the Palestinian parliamentary elections on Jan. 25, to Moscow for talks, and on Friday the Kremlin confirmed that it would do so. Putin's remarks took the Bush administration and European leaders by surprise.
Israel reacted to the Russian decision with fury on Friday. Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit called the Putin invitation "a real knife in the back."
Meanwhile, in Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday and was reassured to hear that the Russians would deliver a "clear, strong message" to Hamas.
The US considers Hamas a terrorist group, and US officials are forbidden to talk to the organization. The EU's policy on talks is not as clear, several officials and diplomats said in interviews. But none said their countries would talk with Hamas.
Foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier of Germany is due to go to Israel and the Palestinian territories today, but a German official insisted, "He is definitely not going to talk to Hamas."
A French diplomat said France "won't have contacts with Hamas," despite its statement of support for the Russian talks.
Speaking to reporters in Paris on Friday, Denis Simonneau, France's deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Russia had not informed European leaders of its intent to talk with Hamas. Still, he added, "we share with Russia the goal to bring Hamas to the positions which allow us to reach the goal of two states living in peace and security."
"As long as we remain within the framework of the goals and principles that we have set for ourselves," he added, "we consider that this initiative can contribute to advancing our positions" -- specifically that Hamas disarm, renounce violence, recognize Israel and respect previous agreements made with Israel.
Sabbath had begun in Israel by the time the French position became known in Jerusalem on Friday. But Daniel Ayalon, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, said in an interview, "I wish they would not have said anything about having a dialogue with terrorists."
Israeli officials in Jerusalem were less restrained when speaking on Friday about the Russian decision.
Housing Minister Zeev Boim said, "Putin is dancing with wolves," and a headline in the popular tabloid Yediot Aharonot read "Anger in Israel: Putin Is Spitting in Our Face."
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, returning from New York on Friday, warned of a "slippery slope" and said, "Every sign of weakness and of recognition will be interpreted by Hamas as legitimizing terror."
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
‘A THREAT’: Guyanese President Irfan Ali called on Venezuela to follow international court rulings over the region, whose border Guyana says was ratified back in 1899 Misael Zapara said he would vote in Venezuela’s first elections yesterday for the territory of Essequibo, despite living more than 100km away from the oil-rich Guyana-administered region. Both countries lay claim to Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens. Guyana has administered the region for decades. The centuries-old dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil deposits a decade ago, giving Guyana the largest crude oil reserves per capita in the world. Venezuela would elect a governor, eight National Assembly deputies and regional councilors in a newly created constituency for the 160,000
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
At a calligraphy class in Hanoi, Hoang Thi Thanh Huyen slides her brush across the page to form the letters and tonal marks of Vietnam’s unique modern script, in part a legacy of French colonial rule. The history of romanized Vietnamese, or Quoc Ngu, links the arrival of the first Christian missionaries, colonization by the French and the rise to power of the Communist Party of Vietnam. It is now reflected in the country’s “bamboo diplomacy” approach of seeking strength through flexibility, or looking to stay on good terms with the world’s major powers. A month after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) visited,
RSS