The official 3 days visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Israel is continuing. Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy have received a really warm welcome in Tel Aviv after years of frosty ties between two countries.

France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy (C), his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (L) and Israel’s President Shimon Peres attend a welcome ceremony at Tel Aviv airport June 22, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

“I have always been and will always be a friend of Israel,” Sarkozy said at a welcoming ceremony at Israel’s international airport in Tel Aviv. He quickly turned his attention to the staggering peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

“I believe that the path to peace lies there before us, that the path to peace is not blocked. I have come to bring my support and that of France and the European Union, your partners in the negotiations,” he said. “An agreement is possible, tomorrow, and that agreement would allow the two peoples to live side-by-side in peace and security.”