Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that efforts are underway to remove the Maoists from the US government’s terror list.

Carter revealed this while addressing a news conference organised by the Carter Centre in Kathmandu at the end of his four-day tour on Saturday. He also said the relationship between the Maoists and the US government was gradually improving.

Commenting on the current political deadlock in Nepal , he said there was lack of trust among the parties because of the failure to implement the comprehensive peace agreement and other pacts.

“I believe that the mistrust among the parties has been exacerbated by the failure on both sides to implement key provisions of the Comprehensive peace Accord and subsequent agreements signed with marginalised groups,” Carter said, adding, “These promises cannot be separated from the election process and they should be fulfilled in order to rebuild the trust among political leaders.”

He suggested that 70 per cent proportional representation-based system and 30 percent first-past-the-post system would be best for constituent assembly elections.

Carter also had his suggestion on the issue of republic declaration. He said it will be appropriate if “overwhelming majority of parties declare through the interim parliament that republic will be established and will be effective when Constituent Assembly is convened.”

He further said he was disheartened that despite the people’s desire to exercise their democratic right to participate in an election, the CA elections had been twice deferred due to disagreements among the parties.

Pointing out the violent activities by the Maoist youth wing, the YCL, and various Terai groups, the former US president also stressed the need for creating a secure environment for CA elections.

Carter made it clear that his views were personal as he was here on an unofficial tour.

During his stay in Kathmandu , Carter had met with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala twice and held discussions with a cross-section of the society including the political leaders, human rights activists, civil society personalities and representatives of foreign diplomatic community.

This was his third visit to Nepal . The Carter Center , a global agency co-founded by Carter, which works for peace and democracy, has deployed its election observes in all five development regions in Nepal .