A Middle East peace deal is unlikely by the end of 2008, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Saturday, while callinIsraelis and Palestinians to continue US-backed negotiations. "We were supposed to get the document, not a final result but something, before the end of the year. But now we all know it will take a little bit longer," Kouchner told reporters in the West Bank town of Jenin.
"I don't know if we will see the Palestinian state before the end of the year, but I know this is absolutely a key and necessary -- we will get the Palestinian state."
According to AFP, Kouchner made the remarks after meeting with Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad at the start of a two-day visit to Israel and the occupied territories.
On Sunday Kouchner will meet outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who is seeking to form a new coalition government.
