TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The U.S. State Department has defended its meeting with Hamas, emphasizing that the discussion was not a negotiation, but rather a reaffirmation of the U.S. stance that the Palestinian resistance group cannot stay in Gaza.
"If you have a conversation with someone, it's certainly not a negotiation. It's not irreconcilable. It is the conveyance of the American position in a different way," said Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce to reporters in her first briefing on Thursday, as reported by Anadolu.
"Nothing was different. Nothing was conveyed differently. There was no change of position. It was the conveyance of the existing American position about Hamas and how it cannot exist in Gaza," she said.
"Whether it is through a tweet or a diplomatic cable, or on television, or through envoys or in a meeting, that message can be conveyed," Bruce added.
Her statement came a day after the White House confirmed that the Trump administration was engaged in direct dialogue with Hamas, while adding that the discussion was in line with U.S. interests.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Israel had been consulted on the matter, and the discussions were ongoing.
Leavitt refused to detail the scope of the discussions, including whether the talks only addressed the release of additional hostages held by Hamas or also encompassed Trump's widely criticized proposal to take over the besieged Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian source with reliable information told Anadolu that the discussions covered positions related to a deal on the release of American citizens held by Israel.
The source said the discussions took place several weeks ago and noted that this was not the first such meeting.
As for the proposal adopted at the Arab leaders' summit on the reconstruction of Gaza, Bruce said: "It does not fulfill the requirements, the nature of what President Trump was asking for."
She added that the U.S. welcomes efforts to address the issue and said, "This clearly has to continue."
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