French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived in Damascus Monday afternoon. His official visit, the first by a French minister since 2005, comes ahead of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s trip sometime in September.

Kouchner’s visit coincides with recently normalised diplomatic relations between Syria and Lebanon. According to FRANCE 24 correspondent Lucy Fielder, Kouchner’s visit to Damascus is “the most significant part” of his Mideast tour.

On August 13, Syria and Lebanon decided to establish diplomatic relations, and, for the first time, mutually appoint ambassadors in the respective countries. The decision was made during a summit in Damascus between Syrian President Bachar al-Assad and his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman.

On the Lebanese leg of his tour, the French FM met President Michel Sleiman on Monday morning. At the end of their discussion, Kouchner played down the exchange of threats between Israel and the Hezbollah but warned of the “explosive” nature of the situation in the Middle-East.

“One must take threats seriously, whether they come from Israel or from Mr. Nasrallah. In a region like this, in a country like this (Lebanon) one must be very careful. The situation in the region is very explosive,” Kouchner said at the end of his talks with the Lebanese president.

The objective of the Beirut visit was to “reassure allies in Lebanon on his way to Damascus,” said Lucy Fielder.

Besides Nicolas Sarkozy’s official visit, the date of which has not yet been announced, Kouchner will speak to Syrian officials about the Assad-Sleiman summit, according to a French government spokesman.

The Syrian and Lebanese presidents met for the first time during a Mediterranean Union summit in Paris, a project initiated by President Sarkozy.