BEIRUT (AFP) — The peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is "not moving forward" though there is progress in the Middle East as a whole, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Friday.
"In the region, things are moving... countries such as Syria and Saudi Arabia appear to be moving closer to one another," Kouchner said after meeting Lebanese President Michel Sleiman.
"In the Middle East, things seem to be advancing. But the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not moving forward -- on the contrary," Kouchner said in Beirut.
The situation is a worry for France but "we are very hopeful that this will move forward as well, meaning (the creation of) a viable, independent Palestinian state that can live in peace" side by side with Israel, he added.
The French minister reiterated a call for Israel to freeze its settlement activity and urged the Jewish state to resume peace talks.
Israel has refused to stop construction work in settlements in occupied territory, which the international community considers illegal and which is one of the major obstacles in the hobbled Middle East peace process.
In a move considered a sign of rapprochement, Saudi Arabia in June named an ambassador to Syria after leaving the post vacant for a year.
Relations between the two had soured following the allegedly Syrian-linked 2005 assassination of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, who was close to the Saudi monarchy. Damascus has denied any link.
Riyadh was also unhappy about Damascus's warm relations with Saudi arch-rival Iran and their support for the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
Diplomats in Riyadh say the Saudis have viewed approvingly Damascus's apparent non-interference in Lebanon's recent elections, which led to the designation of Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, as next prime minister.
Kouchner, who on Friday held talks with officials including Hariri and Hezbollah international relations chief Nawaf Moussawi, called for the formation of a Lebanese government without any foreign intervention.
"It is up to the prime minister-designate to form a government (after consultations) within Lebanon or abroad, whatever he wants," Kouchner told reporters. "It is not for France to advise on this.
The French FM also said he was pleased with the improvement of his country's relations with Syria, Lebanon's former powerbroker.
"I am not unaware that Syria continues to be important in this part of the world, and we are pleased to have established normal relations with Syria," he said.
Kouchner heads to Damascus on Saturday for a two-day visit.
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