French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to arrive in Damascus on Wednesday on a high-profile visit aimed at restoring top-level ties and drawing Syria further out of international isolation.

The French leader's two-day trip is the latest step towards normalising relations that were frozen after the 2005 murder of Lebanon's former premier Rafiq Hariri, a close friend of Sarkozy's predecessor Jacques Chirac.

As the first visit by a Western head of state in five years, it is seen at home as a diplomatic victory for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - six weeks after he made a comeback on the world stage with a high-profile trip to Paris.

Analysts also see the French leader's trip as a chance for Syria to improve its relations with the United States, which continues to blacklist Damascus as a state sponsor of terrorism.

On Thursday, Sarkozy, whose country holds the European Union presidency, will join a four-way summit on Middle East peace with Assad and regional mediators Turkey and Qatar, officials said.

Syria has had strained ties with both France and the United States since Hariri's assassination in a massive Beirut car bombing. Paris and Washington, among others, accused Syria of orchestrating the attack, one of a string targeting its critics in Lebanon.

Syria repeatedly denied the charge but two months later withdrew its troops from Lebanon, ending three decades of domination of its small neighbour.

Paris moved last year to start repairing ties with Syria, but backpedalled, accusing Damascus of blocking the election of a new Lebanese president, fuelling a months-long political crisis.

The election of Lebanese President Michel Sleiman in May - followed by the announcement that Lebanon and Syria would establish diplomatic relations for the first time - paved the way for a full normalisation of relations.

Sleiman called last week for world leaders to follow Sarkozy's example in drawing Syria out of isolation.

Sarkozy said on the eve of his high-profile visit to Damascus that peace in the Middle East "passes through" Syria and France.

"As I told President Bashar al-Assad when he came to Paris on July 12, the path of peace in this region passes through our countries," Sarkozy told Syria's al-Watan daily, which is close to government circles.

"Syria can provide an irreplaceable contribution to solving Middle East issues. It is important that Syria plays a positive role in the region," he said in the interview, an advance copy of which was sent to AFP.