PARIS—Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says she has held productive talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and hopes to build momentum for another peace push when she visits Israel in 10 days.

Clinton and Abbas met one-on-one on Friday in Paris, where the top American diplomat attended a 100-nation conference on Syria.

She said they discussed how to build on a recent letter exchange between Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Clinton said the U.S. is committed to a two-state peace agreement. She said that "we cannot lose sight of the critical importance" of Israeli-Palestinian peace despite upheaval across the Arab world.

Netanyahu's new coalition including the centrist Kadima party has raised hopes of a new push for peace. Talks have been mostly suspended since 2008.