Ikhwanweb :: The Muslim Brotherhood Official English Website

French external affairs minister Bernard Kouchner has said that France was ready to open talks with a Palestinian national unity government including Hamas, describing the Movement as an important component of the Palestinian society.

France will have no problem in having talks with such a government that would respect the peace process and accept the Arab peace plan, he elaborated.

The minister, in an interview with French daily "Le Figaro" published on Monday, said that peace is important in the Middle East and needs a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Kouchner said that France would always fight for the existence of an Israeli state and would also fight to the finish for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

He said that his country was backing Egypt in its bid for inter-Palestinian reconciliation.

The minister also said that the Israeli war on Gaza Strip had led to counter results and did not solve any problem, and denounced the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which, he said, posed as an obstacle before peace