French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will travel soon to Lebanon then Syria on an official visit, according to foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevalier. Chevalier told reporters on Monday, "Kouchner will also visit Damascus in July to preside over a regional conference for French ambassadors."
Chevalier did not give a timetable for the visit, but the Lebanese daily An-Nahar has reported Kouchner was expected in Beirut July 9-10. On Monday, the Bethlehem-based Maan news agency reported that during Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's visit in Paris last week, French President Nicholas Sarkozy offered to use his connections in Syria and Qatar to advance efforts to gain the release of abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who holds French citizenship.