The British government should start preparations to talk to al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to a former prime minister Tony Blair's close aide.
Jonathan Powell, who served as Blair's chief-of-staff throughout his 10 years in office, also believed that the UK should engage with Hamas, the elected Palestinian government.
In an interview with the Guardian newspaper Saturday, 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.
"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 come to a political solution as well as a security solution," he said.
"If I was in government now I would want to have been talking to Hamas, I would be wanting to communicate with the Taliban and I would want to find a channel to al-Qaeda," said the former chief-of-staff.
He suggested that the peace deal in Northern Ireland, where he was instrumental in negotiating a settlement, showed talking to "terror groups" could ultimately work.
His interview comes ahead of the publication of his book on the behind the scenes drama leading to the Northern Ireland peace deal, in which he revealed that the Blair government had not been bold enough because it feared losing power.
The British government recently changed its policy in Afghanistan in supporting President Hamid Karzai, but last December Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted that the UK itself would not hold direct talks with Taliban leaders.
The UK is also insistent in maintaining an international boycott of holding talks with Hamas, after it became the largest party in the Palestinian Authority elections two years ago.
British officials previously had a secret channel of
communication with Hamas through former MI6 intelligence agent, Alistair Crooke, until his cover was blown by the Israelis.
Crooke has since set up his own Conflict Forum, urging the UK and the US to open dialogue with Hamas as well as Hizbollah in Lebanon, as the only way to help resolve the protracted problems in the Middle East.
Source: Agencies
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