France says its envoy held talks with Hamas

PARIS (Reuters) - France said on Monday it had held talks with Palestinian militant group Hamas, prompting criticism from Washington, which has led a Western push to isolate the Islamists who seized control of the Gaza Strip last year.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner confirmed a report in newspaper Le Figaro quoting a retired ambassador who it said had met senior Hamas officials about a month ago.

"It would be difficult to deny it since the man who is in touch with them has spoken," Kouchner told Europe 1 radio.

"Having contacts is necessary. We had some before the invasion (takeover by Hamas) of Gaza."

The United States -- which, along with the European Union, classifies Hamas as a terrorist group -- disagreed.

"We don't think it is wise or appropriate," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.

Hamas, which won a 2006 election and formed a unity government with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, seized Gaza in fighting against his secular Fatah faction last June.

Israel has since imposed a blockade on Gaza, and Western countries, led by the United States, have pushed for Abbas's Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to reach a peace deal without involving Hamas, which rejects the process.

But the U.S.-brokered peace talks have made little tangible progress, and few observers expect the two sides to reach a deal by the end of the year as planned.

WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES

Israel said France's position on Hamas was unchanged.

"We have been in touch with the highest levels of the French government and we have received assurances that there is no change in the position of France vis-a-vis Hamas," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said.

"France continues to adhere to three conditions of the Quartet," he said, adding that France's talks with Hamas would be discussed when Kouchner visits Israel this week.

The Quartet of Middle East mediators, made up of the European Union, the United States, the United Nations and Russia, wants Hamas to renounce violence, recognize Israel, and abide by previous agreements.

Kouchner later told a news conference the contacts between former French ambassador Yves Aubin de la Messuziere and Hamas officials had been for information-gathering only.

"We are not the only ones to have contacts of this kind just to inform ourselves, particularly in the European Union," he said.

Earlier, Kouchner told Europe 1: "We have to be able to speak to each other if we want to play a role, if we want our emissaries to go to Gaza, firstly."

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri confirmed that leaders of the group had met a French representative and envoys from other European countries, and said it showed Europe realized it was "the wrong policy to isolate and boycott Hamas".

Le Figaro said the Hamas leaders de la Messuziere met included Ismail Haniyeh and Mahmoud al-Zahar.

"They said they were prepared to stop suicide attacks and what surprised me was that the Islamist leaders recognize the legitimacy of Mahmoud Abbas," Le Figaro quoted him as saying.

Hamas has offered a six-month truce in Gaza if Israel were to lift an embargo on the territory and reopen border crossings, an offer it presented to Israeli officials last week.

(Additional reporting by Washington bureau, and Adam Entous and Ori Lewis in Jerusalem; Editing by Catherine Evans)