Sarkozy calls for Lebanese peace progress

BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 7 (UPI) -- Feuding Lebanese factions should work quickly to implement a peace agreement hammered out last month, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Saturday.

On a trip to Beirut, Sarkozy issued a statement urging participants in the ongoing conflict between Lebanon's Western-backed government, the Islamic group Hezbollah and others to heed the call for the formation of a new government reached May 21 with the Doha Accord, KUNA reported.

Sarkozy also was in Beirut to congratulate Michel Suleiman, Lebanon's new president, and to demonstrate his support for Suleiman's leadership and proclaim that ties between France and Lebanon were stronger than ever, the Kuwaiti news agency reported, adding that France is willing to back it up with economic and political support.

"I strongly believe in the joint destiny of the peoples of the Mediterranean," Sarkozy said in a statement issued upon his arrival Saturday at Rafic Al-Hariri Airpot in Beirut.