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French president says EU, U.S.to make new effort at Mideast peace

2010-04-07 09:14 BJT

PARIS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday that the European Union (EU) and the United States would make new attempts by this autumn to promote the Middle East peace process.

During a visit to Essonne, a French department near Paris, Sarkozy said the Union for the Mediterranean (UM), which he initiated in 2008, hasn't worked well because friction between some Middle East countries continues to increase instead of lessening.

"We will try and relaunch (the peace talk) with the Americans, I think (it would be) in autumn," French media reported Sarkozy as saying.

The president admitted that the Euro-Mediterranean Union didn't help as much in the Mideast peace process as had been expected and its negotiations have been stalled since Israel launched a massive raid in Gaza in late 2008.

The UM, composed of members from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, had been envisioned by Sarkozy as a positive way of promoting peace between Israel and its Muslim neighbors.

The UM, initially known as the "Mediterranean Union," was formally established in 2008 and headquartered in Spain, which unites all EU members with 21 non-EU countries that border the Mediterranean Sea.

 

Editor: Zhang Pengfei | Source: Xinhua