EU worried over Netanyahu commitment to peace

European Union officials have raised concerns over the commitment of Israel's hardline Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu to pursue genuine peace talks with Palestinians.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says he is worried Netanyahu's talks with other hard-line parties to form a coalition could halt peace talks with Palestinians.

Czech Deputy Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra says he expects a "rough start" once a new Israeli government takes office, warning a two-state peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians is narrowing now that Netanyahu is likely to form a government.

Asked whether Netanyahu's nomination would be good for the peace process with the Palestinians, Vondra said: "That remains to be seen."

"I think we can have a bit of a rough start, but we need to move ahead with the peace process because the two-state solution road is narrowing," Vondra said on arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

The EU's 27 foreign ministers were discussing peace efforts in the Middle East at talks held in Brussels Monday. They insisted that a two-state solution was the only option.

"It's simply not possible to abandon this strategy of two states living in peace and security," Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said. "And I think Prime Minister-designate Mr. Netanyahu will follow such a strategy."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report