France will have no more contact with Syria until Damascus shows willingness to let Lebanon end its long-running political crisis and find a new president, President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday.

“France will have no more contact with Syria until we have proof of Syrian willingness to let Lebanon appoint a president by consensus,” Sarkozy told journalists after talks in Cairo with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak covering thorny regional issues.

Former colonial power France “wants a president for Lebanon,” Sarkozy said. “It’s time to provide proof of goodwill, it’s time for Syria to show it.” Keen to stress a continuation of his predecessor Jacques Chirac’s Arab-friendly policies, Sarkozy called on Israel to make gestures to show its commitment to peace with the Palestinians.