Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on November 6 that he is to meet separately with Palestinian and Israeli leaders early next week, Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported.

President of the Palestinian National Authority Yasser Arafat has asked to hold talks with him either on Monday or Tuesday, Mubarak told Egyptian reporters after meeting with French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in Paris, France.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has made a similar request, but a date has yet to be decided, the news agency quoted Mubarak as saying.

The Egyptian president arrived in Paris Monday on a private visit for medical treatment of ear problem. He met with French President Jacques Chirac on Friday and Jospin on Saturday to discuss the Middle East peace process and bilateral relations.

Arafat and Barak are expected to attend a conference of the Socialist International due to open on Monday, the news agency said.

"It is only natural" that the two meetings will dwell on the latest developments of the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks in the light of outcome of the Oslo summit, Mubarak said.

Arafat, Barak and United States President Bill Clinton met on Tuesday in the Norwegian capital and discussed the peace process, especially the upcoming negotiations for a peace agreement on the thorny issues including Jerusalem, final borders, refugees and Jewish settlement.

Mubarak, as president of the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel, is keen on mediating the peace talks between Arab countries and the Jewish state. (Xinhua)