Italian Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini said in Rome on Tuesday that Hamas'victory in Palestinian elections had set the Mideast peace process back by ten years.

Fini was speaking after the militant Islamist group rejected calls by world powers to renounce violence and recognize the state of Israel.

Those calls came at the end of a meeting in London of the so- called Quartet for the Middle east, which is composed of the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia.

"The Palestinian cause risks being the first victim of Hamas' victory because with Hamas we're going backwards by ten years," Fini said, praising the Quartet's clear and "single" voice.

"It is an absolute duty for Hamas to recognize the state of Israel, renounce terrorism and accept the stages laid out in the Road Map" for Mideast peace, he continued.

The London meeting on Monday said Hamas must reject violence and recognize Israel or risk losing vital aid when it forms new Palestinian government.

The European Union provided aid worth about 500 million euros to Palestinians in 2005.

Hamas has carried out dozens of suicide bombings in the last five years and is on the European Union's list of banned terrorist groups. Its charter includes an article calling for the destruction of Israel.

Source: Xinhua