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UK dismisses al-Qaeda talks call | |
(about 11 hours later) | |
A call by a former senior aide to Tony Blair for the UK to start talks with al-Qaeda has been dismissed as "inconceivable" by the government. | |
Jonathan Powell, an ex Downing Street chief of staff, told the Guardian the Northern Ireland peace deal showed talking to terror groups could work. | |
He also said he would talk to Hamas in Gaza if he still worked at Number 10. | He also said he would talk to Hamas in Gaza if he still worked at Number 10. |
The Foreign Office said the government would not talk to any group actively promoting its aims through violence. | The Foreign Office said the government would not talk to any group actively promoting its aims through violence. |
Mr Powell was one of the key negotiators for the government in reaching a settlement in Northern Ireland during Mr Blair's time at Number 10. | |
BBC political correspondent James Hardy said Mr Powell now believes that deal would not have been possible without secret channels being opened to the IRA three decades earlier. | BBC political correspondent James Hardy said Mr Powell now believes that deal would not have been possible without secret channels being opened to the IRA three decades earlier. |
'Political solution' | |
In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Powell said talks with al-Qaeda might seem pointless at present, but ultimately a political solution would need to be developed alongside a security response. | In an interview with the Guardian, Mr Powell said talks with al-Qaeda might seem pointless at present, but ultimately a political solution would need to be developed alongside a security response. |
It is inconceivable that Her Majesty's government would ever seek to reach a mutually acceptable accommodation with a terrorist organisation like al-Qaeda Foreign Office | |
He said: "There's nothing to say to al-Qaeda and they've got nothing to say to us at the moment, but at some stage you're going to have to come to a political solution as well as a security solution. | He said: "There's nothing to say to al-Qaeda and they've got nothing to say to us at the moment, but at some stage you're going to have to come to a political solution as well as a security solution. |
"And that means you need the ability to talk. | "And that means you need the ability to talk. |
"If I was in government now I would want to have been talking to Hamas, I would be wanting to communicate with the Taleban and I would want to find a channel to al-Qaeda." | "If I was in government now I would want to have been talking to Hamas, I would be wanting to communicate with the Taleban and I would want to find a channel to al-Qaeda." |
But Mr Powell's suggestion was dismissed by the Foreign Office. | |
A spokesman told The Guardian: "It is inconceivable that Her Majesty's government would ever seek to reach a mutually acceptable accommodation with a terrorist organisation like al-Qaeda." |
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