France will spare no effort to facilitate negotiations on freeing hostages being held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the French ambassador to Colombia, Jean-Michel Marlaud, said Monday.
The ambassador said announced the forthcoming visit of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to the Colombian capital as part of a work tour of the region aimed at negotiating the release of the FARC hostages. Kouchner will also visit Ecuador and Venezuela.
"Our message is that we are going to do everything we can to free the hostages," Marlaud said.
"We also aim to talk to officials to accomplish our goal," which is to secure the release of the FARC hostages, including Ingrid Betancourt, a French-Colombian politician kidnapped in 2002while campaigning in Colombia's presidential election, he added.
Betancourt is reported to be seriously ill and on a hunger strike. Marlaud said he will talk to officials to find out if there was more information on her health and if FARC had placed her in some specific location.
The rebels denied a French medical team access to their high-profile hostage in early April.
FARC, Colombia's largest anti-government group, holds some 38 hostages, including Betancourt and three U.S. citizens. Earlier this year, the rebels handed over six prisoners to the Venezuelan government.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article