BOGOTA, May 22 (AFP) - The right-wing Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC) claimed responsibility Saturday for kidnapping a senator who strongly supports peace talks between the government and leftist rebels. AUC leader Carlos Castano claimed responsibility for the abduction of Senator Piedad Cordoba of the Liberal Party, in a statement read to local radio. President Andres Pastrana condemned the kidnapping in a statement issued after meeting with several cabinet ministers, saying it "had no justifcation." "No part of society can bring the process of national reconciliation to a confrontation between the parties," the statement added. Cordoba was kidnapped in a daring hospital raid on Friday in Medellin, a city some 450 kilometers (280 miles) northwest of here. In a statement to Caracol radio, Castano blasted the senator for her stance against the paramilitaries and demanded that AUC be included in peace talks currently underway between the government and leftist guerrillas. "A political solution to the conflict should take into account the three parties to the conflict: the state, the opposition and the self-defense units," Castano said. He demanded a "true balance" in the peace negotiations, adding that the paramilitaries be involved in talks aimed at ending decades of civil war. Cordoba's husband, Luis Castro, asked the AUC not to kill her, telling reporters in Medellin that Castano's statement was the only news he had received about her. "This is the only news that I have, but if indeed they have her, I ask them to respect her life," Castro said. The family has received no indication that she is still alive, he added. Peace talks between the government and the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) resumed earlier this month after months of stalemate. In his statement, Castano did not discuss conditions for Cordoba's release. The 43-year-old lawmaker is a member of a congressional peace commission and has met with FARC leaders on several occasions over the past few weeks.  