By Xinhua,
Cairo : Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter held talks Thursday with a delegation of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Egyptian official MENA news agency reported.
The talks focused on the deteriorating situation in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the stalled Mideast peace process, said the report.
Carter discussed with the Hamas delegation, led by Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar, the possibility of lifting blockade on Gaza and reaching a comprehensive truce between the Palestinians and Israelis.
The Hamas delegation crossed into Egypt through the Rafah border terminal on Wednesday for talks with Carter, who kicked off a week-long trip to the Mideast on Sunday with a personal effort aiming at pushing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
On Monday, the White House urged Carter not to meet Hamas leaders.
“The president (George W. Bush) believes that if ex-president Carter wants to go, that he is doing so in his own private capacity, as a private citizen, he is not representing the United States,” said the White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.
According to earlier report, the meeting between Hamas and Carter was held in Egypt after Israel prevented the former U.S. president from entering Gaza Strip to meet Hamas leadership.