A number of Western and Arab diplomats pour into Beirut this week, starting with a visit by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Sunday.

After meetings with Lebanese officials, Kouchner will head to Damascus for talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad ahead of a visit to Syria by French President Nicolas Sarkozy planned for early next month.

Sarkozy's visit to Damascus, according to the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat, has been linked to progress in establishing diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria.

U.S. State Department official David Hale is scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday to keep up-to-date with developments ahead of President Michel Suleiman's trip to New York.

On Wednesday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit also is due in Beirut to relay a message to Suleiman from his Egyptian counterpart Husni Mubarak on bilateral relations and regional issues.

Abul Gheit also would follow up in Beirut topics that Premier Fouad Saniora had raised during his recent visit to Alexandria.

One day after the Egyptian official's visit to the Lebanese capital, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is to hold talks in Beirut with Suleiman and Lebanese officials on regional issues and bilateral relations.