Beirut/Damascus - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Wednesday that he hoped Lebanon's upcoming parliamentary elections will be held in "a tension-free" environment.

He was speaking in Beirut as part of a week-long trip to the Middle East, and shortly before a UN Special Tribunal in the Hague is due to try alleged suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

Stockholm  - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday held talks with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and other cabinet members, urging Sweden and the European Union to give "political support" to the Middle East peace process.

Abbas, currently touring several European capitals, expressed his thanks for aid from Sweden that he recognized as one of the main donors to the Palestinians.

"To be honest with you we don't want only financial aid from Sweden," Abbas said at a news conference with Reinfeldt.

Cairo  - Rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah held talks in Cairo on Wednesday ahead of broader Palestinian national unity talks scheduled for Thursday.

Hamas politburo member Ezzat al-Rishq described the atmosphere in the talks as "positive and promising" in remarks aired by the Arabic satellite broadcaster al-Jazeera.

Cairo  - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, speaking in Cairo Wednesday, called the establishment of a "viable and strong" Palestinian state crucial to the security of Israel and the Middle East.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Egyptian President Hosny Mubarak, Miliband applauded Egypt's role in brokering ceasefire talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

He urged Palestinian factions to form a national unity government, and called for the creation of a Palestinian state along Israel's 1967 borders.

Amman - European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pottering said Tuesday that the European Union was after the role of a "fair and objective partner" in world efforts, aimed at setting up a vital Palestinian state to live in peace with Israel.

In an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, Pottering made it clear THAT the EU would not deal with Hamas until the Islamist militant movement, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since June 2007, changes its policies and becomes part of a Palestinian "consensus government."

Washington  - The special US envoy for the Middle East, George Mitchell, has begun his second trip seeking to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Mitchell arrived Tuesday in London for talks with British officials and will later head to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Israel and the West Bank, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.