By John Keating
PARIS, Feb 9 (KUNA) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrived here Thursday evening to begin a round of talks Friday with top officials of the French government, mainly on the ongoing crisis in Syria.
Mikati will begin the talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace Friday evening where he is expected to have lengthy discussions on Syria and the potential impact on Lebanon as the crisis worsens.
The two leaders will also discuss broader regional issues and bilateral relations, Lebanese sources said here.
France has consistently expressed support for Lebanese sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and has condemned several Syrian incursions into Lebanon since the crisis began last March.
In the past, France has also been a major impetus in raising funds for Lebanese reconstruction through what is known as the "Paris Conference" for Lebanon, which on three occasions has collectively raised several billion dollars in financing pledges, loans and grants for reconstruction in that country. France has recently asked Mikati's government to help protect and assist Syrian refugees fleeing the violence in their country, but Syria accuses some refugees of involvement in armed groups and of smuggling weapons over the border it shares with Lebanon and has killed several people in cross-border "hot pursuit." Sarkozy is expected to echo declarations Thursday from the United Nations, which issued a statement to reassure Lebanon about its security.
The UN has a large 12,000-man peace-keeping force, UNIFIL, deployed mostly in south Lebanon since the Israeli aggression in 2006 and France has 1,300 troops deployed there under the UN flag.
At least eight French soldiers have been wounded in the past six months by attacks in south Lebanon and this will be an issue broached during Mikati's visit, French sources told KUNA.
The sources added that they "had confidence in the Lebanese authorities" to carry out the ongoing investigations into the attacks on the UN troops.
Mikati's visit here was delayed for several months, partly because of a divergence over the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), a UN body that was set up with French backing to investigate the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others in a Beirut bomb blast.
Mikati's government had been slow to pay its contribution to financing the Tribunal but in November last year paid its USD 36 million share of STL costs.
The STL has issued four arrest warrants for alleged members of the Hezbollah group, which has a key role and predominance in the Lebanese government.
Hezbollah denies involvement in the killing of Hariri and says it will not accept any of its members being arrested for that crime.
Hezbollah says it will not co-operate with the Tribunal, which it says represents Western interests.
The Tribunal's mandate ends in February but can be extended, even without official Lebanese approval because it depends on UN authority.
Later, Mikati will hold talks with Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Foreign Minister Alain Juppe separately. (end) jk.gb KUNA 092230 Feb 12NNNN