France sees Lula role in Colombia hostage talks

Kouchner was visiting Colombia as part of French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy's attempts to secure the freedom ofFrench-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, who has beenheld by FARC guerrillas for six years in hidden jungle camps.

Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez has led mediationefforts with the FARC and last month won the release of twohostages but he has upset Colombia and the United States byshowing political support for rebel leaders.

After meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe,Kouchner said Brazil's Lula could help mediate a deal.

"Both President Uribe and President Sarkozy have excellentrelations with Lula and they have talked about collaborationand a path they both could take toward freeing the hostages,"he said.

"Before, this was a Colombian problem ... now there ispolitical concern in Latin America," he said, adding that othercountries in the region might also get involved.

The FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia --is holding dozens of hostages it wants to swap for rebels injails. The captives include Betancourt and three Americancontractors captured five years ago on a counter-drug mission.

Started as a peasant army fighting for socialism in the1960s, the FARC has been weakened by Uribe's U.S.-backedsecurity drive and the conflict has ebbed. U.S. and EuropeanUnion officials label the FARC a drug-trafficking terroristgroup.

Betancourt, a former lawmaker with dual nationality, wassnatched by the FARC on a remote rural road in February 2002 asshe campaigned for the presidency. Sarkozy has made securingher release a foreign policy priority.

Guerrillas recently announced a plan to hand over threeformer lawmakers to Chavez and Kouchner said a fourth ailingcaptive could also be freed. In January, the rebels freed twofemale hostages to a Venezuelan delegation.

Chavez won praise for brokering that deal, but he angeredBogota by demanding the FARC get more political recognition.Colombia had initially invited him to help as a negotiator butlater charged him with favouring the guerrillas.

(Reporting by Patrick Markey in Bogota; Editing by KieranMurray)