PARIS: French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country holds the European Union presidency, will head to the Middle East next Friday for a four-nation tour, diplomats said.
Kouchner will travel to Lebanon, Syria, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Egypt between August 22 and 25, diplomats said
The minister s visit to Damascus will be the first by a French government member since former president Jacques Chirac broke off ties in response to the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.
France on Thursday hailed the decision by Syria and Lebanon to establish diplomatic relations as an encouraging sign for the region.
The French foreign ministry said in a statement Friday it hopes the decision will rapidly take effect.
The decision was announced during a visit to Syria by President Michel Sleiman, the first by a Lebanese head of state since Syria ended almost 30 years of military domination over Lebanon in April 2005.
The two states have not had diplomatic ties since independence from colonial power France — Lebanon in 1943 and Syria in 1946. -AFP
