DEMARCHE ON HOST COUNTRY MEETINGS WITH HAMAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000457 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016 TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL YM DEMARCHE SUBJECT: DEMARCHE ON HOST COUNTRY MEETINGS WITH HAMAS DELIVERED REF: STATE 27174 Classified By: DCM Nabeel Khoury for reasons 1.4 b and d. (C) On February 21, DCM delivered reftel demarche on HAMAS delegations to Assistant Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Al-Akwa. DCM stressed that the USG still considered HAMAS to be a terrorist organization and would prefer that the ROYG not receive a delegation from HAMAS. DCM stressed that any future contacts with HAMAS should be used to re-enforce the conditions laid out in the Quartet statement for acceptance of a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. Akwa agreed that there was "no future for HAMAS" if they did not "take the right way forward." Krajeski