French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called on Israeli and Palestinian authorities to swiftly launch a fresh drive to restart comprehensive, meaningful Mideast peace talks.

"The priority is to restart as soon as possible the peace process," the French president who arrives in Saudi Arabia for a one-day visit later Tuesday, was quoted by the Saudi daily al-Riyadh as saying.

Sarkozy added, "The deadlock in which we find ourselves today is extremely worrying. But sometimes in these moments of great tensions solutions arise, because they give the actors the courage and strength to move forward."

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sarkozy met in Paris and strove to find ways to revive Mideast peace efforts but announced no progress on their differences over Israel's refusal to halt settlement activity which has stalled the talks between Palestinians and Israelis.

Tel Aviv is currently under intense pressure from the international community to halt the illegal settlement constructions in the West Bank. Israeli settlements are widely considered to be the main hurdle in the way of comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Under the 2002 'Roadmap for Peace' plan brokered by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, and Russia, Israel has to 'dismantle settlement outposts erected since 2001 and freeze all settlement activity.

US President Barack Obama said it would set Mideast peace as a top priority at the start of his presidency in January, in contrast to his predecessor, George W. Bush, who was criticized internationally for neglecting the long-running conflict. But so far, the new administration has little to show for its efforts.

Netanyahu, whose right-leaning coalition includes pro-settler parties, ignores international calls for a total freeze on settlements in the occupied West Bank.

MP/TG/DT