"We can arrive at an agreement with Suez," Frerot told the paper, adding he thought another two or three months of talks could result in a deal being reached with Suez.

Veolia has already secured 30% of the capital of its rival Suez and stands ready to launch an offer on the remainder of the shares but the month-long battle appears far from over as the target strongly reaffirmed its refusal to yield.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta, editing by Louise Heavens)