RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) -- Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas welcomed a call from France for a rapid meeting of the Middle East quartet to relaunch the stalled peace process as a key to regional stability.

"President Abbas welcomes France's call for a rapid meeting of the quartet and considers a serious quest for an international solution to the Palestinian cause will open the path to solving all the conflicts in the region," spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP.

"Resorting to force cannot lead to a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict nor to the implementation of peace and security in the region," he added.

In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac, calling the "commitment" of the international community "key", called for a rapid meeting of the four Middle East peace sponsors European Union, Russia, United Nations and United States.

The quartet sponsored the stalled roadmap peace plan, which has made next to no progress since its launch in June 2003 and missed its initial deadline of creating a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel in 2005.