The number two man of the rebel Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC), who was killed last Saturday in an attack the Colombian Army launched on Ecuadorian territory, did not contact "recently" French officials to address the release of French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, Wednesday said French government's spokesperson Laurent Wauquiez.

The spokesman was replying to a statement the FARC made on Tuesday that Reyes was in Ecuador making efforts to arrange a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss the situation facing Betancourt and other FARC-held hostages, AFP reported.

"In fact, in the past, yet not recently, Reyes was an interlocutor of France, but in the same way he was an interlocutor of the countries involved in efforts for the release of the hostages," Wauquiez told reporters following a cabinet meeting.

"For some time he was an interlocutor of the countries involved in the release of hostages, particularly France and Switzerland, but not during the last few days in particular," the spokesman added.

According to the FARC's communiqué -published by the Bolivarian Press Agency (close to the guerrilla group), Reyes, with the mediation of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, was trying to arrange a meeting with Sarkozy to find a solution to Betancourt's situation.