France, Spain, Italy propose Middle East peace plan

GIRONA, Spain (Reuters) - Spain, France and Italy agreed on Thursday to work on a joint plan to try to resolve the Middle East conflict, calling for a total ceasefire and suggesting they could send truce monitors to the area.

It was not clear how the European initiative would fit in with existing peace plans for the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the stalled U.S.-backed "Road Map".

"Peace in the Middle East, to a great extent, means peace internationally. Stability and security in the Middle East means stability and security for the world," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told a news conference.

Zapatero proposed the countries work on a solution when he met French President Jacques Chirac in the northern town of Girona. They later spoke to Italy's prime minister.

Zapatero said they wanted to bring their proposal to an EU summit in December, adding that the three countries would work closely with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.