PARIS, September 14 (RIA Novosti) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will arrive in Russia for an official visit September 17-18, France's Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Kouchner will meet with Russia's Acting Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov September 18 to discuss issues of international importance and bilateral cooperation.
The visit comes as a preparation for the arrival of French President Nicolas Sarkozy October 11-12.
The outspoken left-leaning Kouchner, a former French health minister and UN governor of the Serb province of Kosovo, is admired in France for being a passionate humanitarian activist.
Analysts suggest the "French doctor" could help Sarkozy translate into reality his election promise to put human rights at the center of French diplomacy.
