Former US President Jimmy Carter (L) shakes hands with Prachanda, leader of Nepal's Maoists during a meeting in Kathmandu, 15 June 2007

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has met with the leader of Nepal's Maoist former rebels, who are still considered terrorists by the United States.

During a meeting in the capital, Kathmandu, Friday, Prachanda said he appealed to Mr. Carter to help remove his organization from the U.S. terrorist list.

The formal rebel organization, Communist Party of Nepal, joined the interim government in April after signing a peace deal last year that ended their insurgency.

But the U.S. says the organization must renounce violence completely and bring its conduct in line with the standards of mainstream political parties in multi-party democracies.

Mr. Carter arrived in Nepal earlier this week as a private citizen and head of his Atlanta-based Carter Center, on a trip to encourage Nepal's political leaders to uphold the country's newfound peace.

Nepal has invited the Carter Center to observe the November elections of a special assembly to rewrite the constitution.  The special assembly will decide the political future of King Gyanendra, who was stripped of his powers last year. 

Nepal's Maoists want the monarchy abolished. 

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.