French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent a letter to his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez thanking him for the "tireless efforts that helped" release last week several hostages held by the Colombian guerrillas, including Ingrid Betancourt.

"As we celebrate the release of Ingrid Betancourt and other 14 hostages, I thank you again for your tireless efforts that helped the hostages of Colombia to come back to freedom and the love of their beloved ones," said the French president, as quoted on Tuesday in a press release from the Venezuelan government.
 
Early this year, Chávez welcome six hostages in Venezuela, who were unilaterally freed by the Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) as a token for him, AFP reported.

Since then, the Venezuelan president was viewed as a key actor to deal with new releases. The French president has made it known in this way on several occasions.

The letter, where Sarkozy congratulates Chávez for the commemoration of the 197th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence of Venezuela, underscored also the "superb" bilateral relation.