TIRI, Lebanon, Jan 6 (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday a deal to end the Israeli offensive in Gaza was "not far".

"I'm convinced that there are solutions. We are not far from that. What is needed is simply for one of the players to start for things to go in the right direction," he told reporters during a visit to French U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon.

Sarkozy said he was returning to Sharm el-Sheikh to meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak because there was "small hope" of such a deal.

AlertNet news is provided by