By KUNA,
Paris : The French Foreign Ministry on Tuesday emphatically denied rumours of secret contacts held with the Islamist movement, Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and which is listed as a “terrorist organization.
” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascale Andreani said that there was “no official contact” and “no negotiations with Hamas.” The official said that a former French ambassador to Iraq and former Director of the Foreign Ministrys Middle East and North Africa department had had “individual” contact with Hamas within the framework of “research” he was doing.
The diplomat is retired, Andreani explained.
Nonetheless, diplomatic sources said the retiree is still in contact with the Foreign Ministry but it is not known if his contact with Hamas is being discussed.
France, and indeed the European Union, have rejected any idea of contact with the legally-elected Hamas in Gaza until the organization rejects violence, recognizes Israel and agrees to adhere to the 1993 Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel.