Veteran Israeli politician Shimon Peres said on Wednesday he was leaving the Labor Party to support Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's new centrist party in early general elections in March.

Peres told a press conference in Tel Aviv that he was supporting Sharon as the person who had the best chance of restarting the peace process with the Palestinians.

"My period of service within the (Labor) party has come to an end," said the 82-year-old former prime minister who has been a part of the center-left party for nearly sixty years.

However, Peres failed to say whether he would be joining Sharon 's Kadima (forward), a newly formed party following Sharon's departure from the right-wing Likud party on Oct. 21 over hardliners' objection to his unilateral pullout of Jewish settlers and soldiers from the Gaza Strip in September.

Describing Sharon as the most appropriate person for the peacemaking work, Peres said, "I have therefore decided to support his candidacy and cooperate with him in achieving these objectives. "

Some Israeli media reports said Peres reached a political deal with Sharon, who promised to offer the job of peace envoy to Peres if the prime minister's Kadima party won the election in March.

Peres lost the race for Labor chairman three weeks ago to trade union chief Amir Peretz who promptly withdrew Labor from the Likud- led ruling coalition earlier this month.

Source: Xinhua