The US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has begun another round of talks in European capitals in an effort to jump-start the Middle East peace process.

Defence correspondent Nick Childs says to expect little progress (1'48")

She held breakfast talks in Paris with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

After the talks, Mr Netanyahu said: "We discussed in suitable detail the fulfilment of Palestinian responsibilities in order to arrive at the two sides of the equation:

"The Palestinians fulfilling their obligations in security and other commitments and Israel putting forward a credible proposal for redeployment."

Mrs Albright will later travel to London to meet the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Mr Arafat will meet US and British leaders

Mr Arafat also will hold talks with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

But according to BBC Correspondent, Paul Adams, the talks are unlikely to move along the moribund peace talks.

The Israeli cabinet held another meeting on Wednesday, the third in three days, but failed to agree on a concrete proposal to put to Mrs Albright.

No news is bad news for the peace process

Mr Netanyahu will not be able to give Mrs Albright any commitments on the scale or timing of Israel's long-delayed troop redeployment in the West Bank and will propose a further delay while the Palestinian authority proves its commitment to combat violence.

Mr Netanyahu will argue that the delay is due to hardliners in the cabinet and their supporters who, he alleges, are plotting to bring down his government.

But that reasoning is likely to test Mrs Albright's patience. It also appears not to have convinced members of Mr Netanyahu's own cabinet.

According to Paul Adams, the Israeli Foreign Minister, David Levy, was so disillusioned by his government's inability to make up its own mind that he decided not to accompany Mr Netanyahu to Paris.

The peace process has now been stalled for nine months, since the Israeli government decided to go ahead with a new Jewish settlement on the edge of Jerusalem.
 

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