McCain: Hamas statement mischaracterized

WASHINGTON, May 16 (UPI) -- The campaign of Republican presidential contender John McCain said Friday that a 2006 statement McCain made about dialogue with Hamas had been mischaracterized.

Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for the presumptive nominee's campaign, said accusations from James Rubin, a former U.S. State Department official under U.S. President Bill Clinton, that McCain, R-Ariz., had supported unconditional dialogue with the Palestinian extremist group in 2006 were misleading, CNN reported Friday.

"There should be no confusion, John McCain has always believed that serious engagement would require mandatory conditions and Hamas must change itself fundamentally -- renounce violence, abandon its goal of eradicating Israel and accept a two-state solution," Bounds said.

The spokesman produced a statement McCain made in 2006 that urged Hamas to renounce violence. However, he didn't say taking such a step would be a precondition for dialogue with the United States.

Rubin said McCain performed "the ultimate flip-flop in American politics" when he criticized Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., for his stated willingness to meet with leaders of hostile countries, including Iran, after supporting dialogue with Hamas.