Lebanon and Syria open diplomatic relations
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman agreed on Wednesday to establish diplomatic relations between their countries at ambassadorial level, a Syrian official said.
Hezbollah to bury slain commanderDamascus has been under pressure from the United States and other governments including France to treat its smaller neighbour more as a sovereign state by taking steps including opening a Beirut embassy and demarcating borders with Lebanon.
"The two presidents ... have instructed their foreign ministers to take the necessary steps in this regard, starting from today," Buthaina Shaaban, an adviser to Assad said.
The United States welcomed the move.
"We have long stood for the normalization of relations between Syria and Lebanon on the basis of equality and respect for Lebanese sovereignty," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a news conference in Washington.
"One of the steps that has long been required has been the establishment of a proper embassy for Syria and Lebanon and vice-versa," she added.
Syria had dominated Lebanon until the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri triggered pressure for it to end a 29-year military presence in the country.
Suleiman, who had been army chief before his election, was received at a hilltop palace overlooking Damascus. He was appointed head of Lebanon's military when Syria still controlled the country and describes his ties with Damascus as excellent.
The two countries announced last month in Paris that they intended to open diplomatic relations for the first time since they gained independence in 1943. Wednesday's agreement formally set those ties on the highest level.
It was Suleiman's first visit to Syria since his election in May as part of a Qatari-mediated deal that defused a bitter political conflict between an anti-Syrian majority coalition and an alliance of groups backed by Damascus.
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