France refused to confirm on Monday alleged sharp criticism of Venezuela and Iran by a senior French diplomat contained in US State Department documents leaked by the whistle-blowing WikiLeaks website.

A spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that WikiLeaks was "irresponsible" for disclosing US diplomatic correspondence which he said could "harm the resolution of issues essential for the security and stability of international relations and place people's safety at risk."

"We do not confirm any of the points attributed to French authorities and diplomats in these documents," the spokesman said in response to a question about the reported criticism of Venezuela and Iran.

British newspaper The Guardian published the text of a diplomatic telegram according to which that Jean-Davide Levitte, a senior French diplomat, had described Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez as "crazy."

Source:ElUniversal.com