French minister says France not talking to Syria

PARIS, May 25 (Reuters) France's new foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said today that Paris would continue to snub Syria because it did not believe Damascus respected Lebanon's autonomy.

Speaking during a visit to Lebanon, Kouchner told Europe 1 radio that French foreign policy in the region would reflect that of the previous president, Jacques Chirac, who left office earlier this month and was close to the Lebanese government.

''We are ready to talk with all personalities and representatives of groups who are in favour of Lebanon's unity, its autonomy and its territorial integrity,'' Kouchner said.

''This clearly means we don't have to talk to Syrian leaders,'' he said, adding that France might be ready to resume contact as soon as the Syrian position on Lebanon changed.

Kouchner's trip to Lebanon was his first visit outside Europe since his surprise appointment by President Nicolas Sarkozy last week, sending a clear signal that France intended to keep close ties to its former colony.

His trip also coincided with Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war with the army fighting a militant group, Fatah al-Islam, in the north of the country.

Asked if Syria represented a ''threat'' for Lebanon, Kouchner said: ''(The threat) comes especially from that side, but it also comes from other directions in a region, that as you know, will never find peace until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is peacefully resolved.'' He added that Iran was also influencing the situation as was the ''chaos'' in Iraq.

Kouchner is a leading light on the French left and his decision to join the cabinet of the rightist Sarkozy stunned many of his friends. However, the minister told Europe 1, that he would remain true to his ideals.

REUTERS SV HS1548