Abbas asked to reconsider

French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' decision not to seek re-election poses a threat to peace in the Middle East. He's urging Abbas to reconsider and will ask him to remain in office during an upcoming visit.

Bernard Kouchner, French Foreign Minister, said, "I will visit Israel and the Palestinian territories in a few days and I will ask President Abbas to carry on working with perseverance on the peace process, meaning working on the creation of a Palestinian state. France hasn't changed its mind, on the contrary. For that reason, I think that settlements must stop, or at least that political negotiations resume on every subject."