French President Jacques Chirac, pointing out the state of urgency in the Middle East, urged Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to hold a "direct" meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a meeting he said should be "without pre-conditions."
Speaking after a meeting in Paris with Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres, Chirac warned that Israelis and Palestinians "risked sinking into war" and he reiterated his criticism of violence and repression, noting that "peace will not b! e made through weapons."
According to the Kuwaiti official news agency (KUNA), he also explicitly spoke out against Israel’s policy of closure and economic deprivation of the Palestinian people.
While somber on the current climate, Chirac said "today, France believes peace is possible" and he praised the efforts from several parties which are seeking to renew dialogue and give a "political horizon" to the conflict.
A meeting between Sharon and Arafat would provide a strong symbol, Chirac said, adding that the United States and Europe should engage to encourage such a meeting.
Peres said after the talks that his discussions with Chirac were "very positive," although he admitted that there were sometimes "diplomatic nuances" between France and Israel.
In recent weeks, the French government has been strongly critical of Israel’s recourse to heavy-handed violence and its failure to seek political grounds to end the violence. (Albawaba.com)
