It would be a mistake to give political legitimacy to the Taleban, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Monday.
Speaking on a visit to Pakistan, Frattini said talks with the Taleban could be started along the lines of those with Hamas, ''but they must not be allowed to become legitimate actors in the political dialogue''.
Frattini noted that the talks which Afghan President Hamid Karzai has opened with the Taleban ''have not yet led to great results''.
Frattini, who is on a quick stopover here to lend Italy's support to the new anti-terrorist drive of President Arif Ali Zardari, added that talk of increasing Italian troop numbers was out of place because Italy's contingent is ''already the fourth largest'' in Afghanistan.
The foreign minister was speaking shortly after a South African aid worker was killed by two men riding a motorbike in Kabul.
