U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday said she will continue working with Norway on seeking Middle East peace, the Associated Press reported. Last month, Norway became the first western country to recognize the new Hamas-led coalition after a year of refusing to deal with the previous Hamas government. The United States has continued to distance itself from the coalition, but meets some ministers. «As for contact policies, those will vary from state to state. As for our view, the United States on a selected basis will have contacts with ministers who have accepted and are themselves committed to the principles,» Rice said at a news conference with Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere. The principles set out by the «Quartet» of Middle East peacemakers _ the United Nations, EU, Russia and the U.S. _ include accepting the right of Israel to exist, renouncing violence and accepting previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements. Stoere said Norway saw the creation of a Hamas-led coalition that includes the more moderate Fatah party and independents as grounds to resume contacts and economic support. «We wanted to send a message to the Palestinians that this was such an important step ... that it was time to normalize relations,» Stoere said. «Normalizing means we talk to them. It is urgent because we cannot afford to let chaos break out again.»
