German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday reiterated the European Union's hope to revive the Middle East peace process during her visit in Abu Dhabi, the third leg of her four-day regional trip.

During her meeting with Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Merkel said that as the current rotating EU president country, Germany "will do everything in our power" to ensure the success of talks between Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal in Mecca.

The reconciliation talks between Abbas and Mashaal, hosted by Saudi Arabia in the Islamic holy city of Mecca on Tuesday, are being held in a bid to settle a factional violence that has claimed the lives of some 60 people since Jan. 25.

In her later address at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, the German Chancellor said the Palestinian- Israeli conflict is the "central issue" to the Middle East peace process.

"Many other conflicts in the region cannot be solved" without the solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and a two-state solution is the best way forward, Merkel added.

Merkel cited the union of East and West Germany to show the possibility of the two-state solution, saying that it is an experience of millions of Europeans that will help the Palestinian- Israeli issue.

Merkel also mentioned the nuclear program of Iran, saying that the international community did not fall apart over this issue: a UN Security Council resolution imposing limited sanctions on Iran had been supported by EU, the United States, Russia and China.

She also urged Iran to abide by international rules and show transparency.

Merkel began her four-day regional tour on Saturday, which has taken her to Egypt and Saudi Arabia. She will travel to Kuwait on Tuesday.

Source: Xinhua