A day after Nicolas Sarkozy managed a “historic” diplomatic breakthrough between Syria and Lebanon, the French president proudly looked on as Israeli President Ehud Olmert said Israelis and Palestinians “have never been this close” to a peace deal.

Olmert’s statement followed talks between the Israeli leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Paris Sunday, shortly before the launch of Sarkozy’s dream project: the Union for the Mediterranean. 

Standing alongside Abbas and Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace, Olmert said the time had come “when the Palestinian authorities and the Israelis have to take serious and important decisions that will finally take us to where we have never been before.”

He did not however provide any details of any progress on the Middle East peace process.

In his role as host to the 43-member Union for the Mediterranean, Sarkozy hailed the new move. “The Israelis want peace, the Palestinians want peace. The role of Europe and France is to help peace,” he told reporters Sunday.

For his part, Abbas welcomed the French intercession and voiced hope "that we can arrive at peace within a number of months."

‘An opportune time’ to kick start peace hopes

Sunday’s talks between Olmert and Abbas came on the heels of Saturday’s breakthrough in Lebanese-Syrian diplomatic relations when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Michel Sleiman agreed to set up embassies in each others capitals.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, an attack which Lebanon claims Syria was involved in.

The Lebanese-Syrian breakthrough followed talks between the two leaders in Paris, which were hosted by Sarkozy.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Sarkozy declared that, "For France, this is historic progress.”

Sarkozy’s progress so far on some of the thorniest issues in the Mideast comes at an opportune time, according to Annette Young, FRANCE 24’s Jerusalem correspondent.

“There is no doubt that with US President George Bush’s term coming to an end, President Nicolas Sarkozy sees this as an opportune time to try to step in and try to expedite the Mideast peace process,” said Young. 

The US-sponsored Mideast peace process was re-launched last year with the stated aim of achieving an agreement before Bush steps down next January.

Young noted that while there was very little public information about the ongoing discussions, “what we are hearing is that it has been a fraught process.”

Given the historic difficulties in hammering out a lasting Mideast peace deal, the arrival of a new negotiator on the scene could be a welcome development in the region, according to Marc de Chalvron, FRANCE 24’s correspondent in Jerusalem.

“The Palestinians deplore the immobility of the US, probably due to the upcoming elections and Sarkozy’s mediation is viewed by both sides as a means of progress.”