Visiting French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said that France's openness to Syria "is related to steps to be taken by Damascus toward Lebanon."

Kouchner met upon arrival in Beirut Sunday with leaders from the ruling March 14 alliance.

"I will tell Syrian officials during my prospective visit to Syria that the future of relations between France and Syria is highly dependent on the nature of Lebanese-Syrian ties," Kouchner told reporters at Beirut airport.

On Monday, Kouchner met President Michel Suleiman and headed for separate meetings with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora.

Kouchner will head to Damascus to meet 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.