US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reaffirmed US support for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas even as she said that his plan to govern alongside Hamas militants complicated US peacemaking efforts.
Rice suggested on Thursday that the Bush administration has strong reservations about Abbas' planned union with Islamic militants whom the West labels terrorists, but she would not confirm that US diplomats have warned Abbas that Washington would shun the new government.
Rice said she would reserve judgment until the coalition government is formed and its policies clear. She said she has seen no evidence yet that the government intends to meet international demands to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by agreements made by the previous secular Palestinian government.
"Talking about recognizing or not recognizing the government" is premature, she said. "There isn't one yet. When there is one, the United States will make a determination."
Rice spoke to newspaper reporters ahead of a Middle East trip that includes a joint meeting with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. It was the first time she has addressed the deal brokered last week in Saudi Arabia without US help.
Peace efforts are "obviously more complicated because of the uncertainties surrounding the national unity government," but there is no reason to delay either the meeting or associated efforts to offer Palestinians a more hopeful future, Rice said.
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