Chirac, Bin Ali discuss Middle East developments

A Tunisian official source said on Wednesday that Tunisian President Zein al-Abidin Bin Ali and French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday held telephone talks dealing in particular with the Middle East peace process and bilateral relations.

The source added that the two Presidents expressed a "joint desire to revive the Middle East peace" to avoid continued violence in the region and to "meet the ambitions of its peoples to live in peace." The two Presidents also discussed relations between France and Tunisia and "prospects of developing bilateral relations in the service of the two countries and peoples."

Bin Ali asserted the importance of the top priority given by Tunisia to its traditional ties with France. He noted his country's keenness to promote these relations on the bilateral level or in the framework of the association agreement with the European Union.