In an interview with Time magazine posted on Thursday, the Democrat said that “when Secretary Clinton was Secretary of State, she took very little action to bring about peace. It was only John Kerry’s coming into office that reinitiated all these very important and crucial issues.”

A representative for Clinton, the Democrats’ leading possible 2016 presidential contender, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Carter’s comments come amid faltering peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, in which Kerry has been heavily involved since taking over at the State Department.

Carter helped broker the 1978 Camp David peace agreement between Israel and Egypt.

“I know from experience that the best way to have the United States be a mediator is for the president himself to be deeply involved,” he added in the interview.

Since leaving office, Carter has taken a more controversial approach to the Middle East, with critics often charging that he is excessively hard on Israel.