CAIRO, Dec 30: France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows willingness to let Lebanon end its long-running political crisis and find a new president, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday.

France “will have no more contact with Syria... until we have proof of Syrian willingness to let Lebanon appoint a president by consensus”, Sarkozy told journalists after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

The French president was on his first official trip to the Middle East since taking office in May and his Cairo talks followed a private Egyptian holiday with his new girlfriend ex-model Carla Bruni and a swarm of paparazzi.

Former colonial power France “wants a president for Lebanon”, Sarkozy said.

“It’s time to provide proof (of goodwill), it’s time for Syria to show it.” Keen to stress a continuation of his predecessor Jacques Chirac’s Arab-friendly policies, Sarkozy called on Israel to make gestures to show its commitment to peace with the Palestinians.

“I’ve said several times... that it’s time for Israel to make gestures which would show that peace is possible, including ending settlements,” in the occupied West Bank, Sarkozy said.

“Our position (toward Israel) is unchanging, being a friend doesn’t mean being complacent,” Sarkozy said,

Sarkozy has ruffled Arab feathers by showing friendship for Israel and rejecting anti-Americanism, with sections of the Egyptian press deriding him as President George W. Bush’s new poodle, replacing British ex-premier Tony Blair.—AFP