Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday in Switzerland to discuss ways to resume the peace process.

Mark Regev, spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, confirmed the two would hold talks.

Livni will also meet with Jordan's King Abdullah II, who has been a part of mediation efforts in the past.

The leaders are in Davos, Switzerland for the high-profile World Economic Forum.

The planned meeting between Abbas and Livni was intended to push forward the long-stalled peace process, said Yasser Abed Rabbo, an Abbas aide. Rabbo is in Davos with Abbas, and spoke to The Associated Press by telephone.

Abbas met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last month to discuss steps they could take to build confidence between the two sides and eventually resume negotiations, which were abandoned six years ago.

The leaders hope the Davos meeting will build momentum for a planned three-way summit next month between Abbas, Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Abbas, Merkel hold talks

Abbas also met Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Germany currently holds the European Union's rotating six-month presidency.

The two met behind closed doors to discuss ways of reviving talks, AP reports.

Abbas has been pushing for a unity government with Hamas, and said he was hopeful that talks with Merkel would be a step in the right direction.

"Germany is the head of the EU, so we expect a lot out of Germany,'' he said.

Neither leader would comment on the outcome, if any, from the meeting.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora pulled out of the Davos forum Thursday, choosing to remain in Paris, where international donors were meeting to raise money for Lebanon, still reeling from last year's 34-day war between Israeli troops and Hezbollah militants.

With files from The Associated Press