De Villepin, who flew in from Cairo, went straight to the presidential palace for talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

France and Syria were vocal opponents of the US-led war in Iraq and after meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the first leg of his tour Saturday, de Villepin called for the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq and for sanctions against the country to be lifted.

De Villepin's whirlwind tour, also due to include stops in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, comes as Syria has been repeatedly accused by the United States of supplying military equipment to Iraq and sheltering officials from Saddam Hussein's fallen regime.

SPACE.WIRE