French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday talked with visiting Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in the Elysee Palace, touching on the hostage crisis, the presidential office said in a statement.
Sarkozy expressed his gratitude to Uribe for facilitating the recent liberation of two hostages, Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo, calling on the Colombian president to continue to help liberate more hostages.
Sarkozy also affirmed France's commitments and his personal determination to find a rapid solution to the ordeal of the hostages.
He asserted that "France supports all initiatives that could contribute to the release of the hostages."
For his part, the Colombian president said "I would like to thank President Sarkozy for this meeting, which was very trustful, frank and constructive."
Uribe arrived in Paris on Sunday on the first leg of a European tour that will take him to Brussels, Spain and Switzerland.
Negotiations Between the Colombian government and rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have become deadlocked over demands from the FARC to swap 44 of its most high-profile hostages for 500 rebels held in Colombian prisons.
The Colombian president is under pressure from the Europeans to reach a deal with the FARC, with France saying last month that it was ready to take in rebels as part of a settlement to the crisis.
Source: Xinhua
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