Hamas movement on Sunday welcomed talks in Damascus between its political leader in exile Khaled Meshaal and a delegation of British MPs. The visit by the delegation led by Clare Short of the governing Labour Party, was a "step in the right direction," Hamas said on its website.
Short, a former minister, had called for an end to the boycott of Hamas by Western governments. "We need to talk to Hamas to make progress because they represent a big proportion of the Palestinians," she said, according to AFP. She called for dialogue with Hamas to "move things forward in the hope that we in the end achieve just peace."
Short was accompanied to Damascus by a second Labour MP and two parliamentarians from the centrist Liberal Democrat party.
