French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Colombia's high commissioner for peace Luis Carlso Restrepo failed to meet in the French capital of Paris on Tuesday due to the former's schedule change, said Restrepo's office in Colombia.
The commissioner was told of the change at the last minute and was given a new date to discuss the hostage swap accord between the Colombian government and the country's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Restrepo's office said in a statement.
Colombians have called for an accord between the Colombian government and the FARC to swap hundreds of hostages the rebel group holds for FARC prisoners in state jails.
"At the request of the French government, the trip planned for today has been postponed," said the statement, noting "Colombia will continue to coordinate with France to proceed with the operative steps that will allow the achievement of a humanitarian accord."
France has taken an interest in the hostage issue because among the FARC's high-value hostages is Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian citizen kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning for the presidency.
Source: Xinhua
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