"As the President of the UN Security Council for the month of February 2010, France supports the Personal Envoy in this approach," said on Thursday the French Foreign Affairs Ministry Spokesman, Bernard Valéro.

   The aim of this meeting, which follows the first informal talks held last August in Austria, is to "prepare for a fifth round of official negotiations in order to reach a political, just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution within the framework of the UN," Valéro added.

   The French official recalled the Security Council resolution 1871 which called on the parties to show realism and compromise in order to enter into a more substantive phase of negotiations.