Damascus  - French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Syria Wednesday accompanied by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner for a two- day visit.

The French politicians were welcomed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and other officials at Damascus Airport.

The French president was to head immediately to the presidential palace for an official welcoming ceremony to be followed by bilateral talks with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to discuss regional issues.

The visit, the first by a French head of state in four years, aims at normalizing bilateral relations, which were frozen after the assassination of Lebanon's former premier Rafiq Hariri in February 2005. Damascus was accused of being behind the car bombing, a claim it has denied.

"Our countries open a new chapter in their relations," Sarkozy told the Syrian al-Watan daily on the eve of his visit. "Our friendship is a priceless fortune that should be preserved at any cost."

On Thursday, Sarkozy is scheduled to join a four-way summit on the Middle East peace process with Assad and regional mediators Turkey and Qatar.

Sarkozy was accompanied by a high-level economic delegation. (dpa)