Former US President Jimmy Carter denied on Wednesday that the State Department warned him not to meet with leaders of Hamas before he made a recent trip to the Middle East.
The State Department has said earlier that US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, the top US Diplomat for the Middle East, urged Carter not to meet with Hamas, a position restated by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, but Carter denied this.
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| Rice: US warned Carter not to talk to Hamas / Associated Press |
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Secretary of state claims US administration explicitly warned former president not to meet representatives of the Islamic group, so as not to confuse message that US will not deal with Hamas |
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The Carter Center statement said the former president attempted to call Rice before making the trip and a deputy returned his call since Rice was in Europe.
"They had a very pleasant discussion for about 15 minutes, during which he never made any of the negative or cautionary comments described above. He never talked to anyone else," the Carter Center statement said.
"President Carter has the greatest respect for ... Rice and believes her to be a truthful person. However, perhaps inadvertently, she is continuing to make a statement that is not true," the statement said.
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