DAMASCUS (Reuters) - France has asked Syria to encourage Hamas to release an Israeli soldier held by the Palestinian group, a French lawmaker sent by President Nicolas Sarkozy on a Middle East fact finding mission said on Tuesday.
Sarkozy raised the issue of Gilad Shalit, a dual French-Israeli national who was captured in 2006, with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by telephone last week, Philippe Marini told reporters.
Diplomats in the Syrian capital said Shalit's release was also a main focus of a visit by Sarkozy to Damascus this month during the Israeli invasion of Gaza.
"Mr Shalit is an Israeli soldier but he is also a French national. We insist a lot on this because it is our duty to defend our citizens," Marini said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE50Q3PL20090127