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Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (L), who chairs the EU Council of Ministers, is to meet with Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (R) in Brussels on Wednesday for an extraordinary meeting with the EU Foreign Ministers.
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PARIS/BRUSSELS (EJP)---France is ready to talk with a Palestinian government which would include members of Hamas if it acts in favour of peace with Israel, the French foreign ministry said.
“We are ready to work with a national union government which would respect the principle of the peace process and would engage in negotiations with Israel leading to the creation of a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in peace and security," Eric Chevallier, the ministry’s spokesman, said Tuesday.
Asked by journalists if France still demands, prior to any contact with Hamas, renunciation of violence, recognition of Israel and acknowledgment of past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians, Chevallier responded: "There is absolutely one major element, it’s renunciation of violence.”
According to Le Figaro newspaper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to convene a wide-ranging international Middle East peace conference in Paris.
Sarkozy introduced the idea of the peace conference at Sunday's summit meeting in the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh, saying that its aim would be "to finally secure peace this year."
The form of the summit will reportedly be similar to that of the one the United States hosted in Annapolis in November 2007.
According to Le Figaro, the first step would be a meeting of foreign minister in Egypt, which would probably take place at the beginning of February.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he hopes to work quickly with the new US administration on settling Mideast tensions.
But he told a French radio that France and Europe should not wait for President-elect Barack Obama to "solve all our problems" and should continue diplomatic efforts after 22 days of conflict in Gaza.
EU ministers to meet with Livni
The EU Czech presidency has scheduled meetings this week in Brussels between the 27 EU ministers and Middle East leaders. They will meet on Wednesday with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and hold a press conference at the EU Council of Ministers building. The ministers will later have another set of meetings with Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and the Palestinian Authority
The press conference will be chaired by Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, president of the EU Council of Ministers, and will also be attended by EU's foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
The Czech Presidency said it convened these meetings as a follow-up to the Summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh and the subsequent meeting in Israel of EU leaders with Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Sunday night.
“The Czech Presidency feels the need to be transparent and provide information on the conclusions of the Sunday negotiations to the Member States that were not directly involved in these negotiations. The objective of both extraordinary meetings with partners from the Middle-East in Brussels is particularly to find the most effective way to help the citizens of Gaza in their difficult humanitarian situation and clarify role and strategy of the EU in searching for a more stable security situation in the Middle-East.”