French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine arrived in Jordan at the end of a regional tour in which he said earlier Friday he sees things moving toward resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, an AFP correspondent saw.
Vedrine is in the region on behalf of the European Union (EU), whose six-monthly rotating presidency is currently held by France.
He flew into Marka civilian airport in Amman and headed immediately for talks with Foreign Minister Abdel Ilah al-Khatib.
He is also expected to meet Prime Minister Ali Abu Ragheb before wrapping up his tour that has already taken him to Cairo, the Gaza Strip and Tel Aviv for talks with Arab and Israeli leaders.
In Tel Aviv earlier Friday, Vedrine said "something has begun to move concerning the political discussion between Israel and the Palestinians."
After talks with caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, he told reporters that "something has begun to move concerning the political discussion between Israel and the Palestinians."
Barak is "determined to defend the legitimate interests of Israel and, at the same time, he very much desires to seize every opportunity for discussion to reach an agreement."
The French foreign minister arrived Thursday in Tel Aviv as part of a two-day regional tour in an EU bid to help restart the peace process.
On Thursday, Vedrine met Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in a bid to promote an end to the violence that has rocked Palestinian territories since September 28.
Earlier Thursday, Vedrine said in Cairo after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak: "We hope to promote without condition the resumption of political discussions to lead to a revival of real negotiations." -- AMMAN (AFP)
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