Syria and Lebanon Will Open Embassies

By Angela Charlton

Associated Press Writer

July 12, 2008

CBNNews.com - PARIS -- France's president says Syria and Lebanon will open embassies in each other's countries.

The nations have not had full-fledged embassies in each other's countries since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945.

Syrian President Bashar Assad said last month that establishing diplomatic ties with Lebanon would be possible if a national unity Cabinet was formed in Beirut.

Such a government, including members of Syria's ally Hezbollah, was formed Friday after weeks of haggling.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is hosting a summit among leaders of 43 nations from Europe and the Mediterranean rim.

Lebanon's new president said Saturday he wants to establish diplomatic ties with Syria and exchange ambassadors, calling for a major shift in long-hostile relations between the neighbors.

Michel Suleiman spoke before talks in Paris with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar Assad - and on the eve of a rare summit among leaders of 43 nations from Europe and the Mediterranean rim that France says could send a "wind of hope" through the region.

"We want an exchange of ambassadors and diplomatic relations with Syria," Suleiman told reporters at the French presidential palace. He said he was "satisfied" with relations with Syria and that a visit there is "still on the agenda."

The two countries have not had diplomatic relations since 2005, when former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed. Syria's critics accuse Damascus of having a role in the slaying, a charge Syria denies.

Suleiman would not comment on a hoped-for timeframe for new ties or embassies. The nations have not had full-fledged embassies in each other's countries since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945.

Damascus dominated Lebanon for nearly three decades before the outcry over Hariri's 2005 slaying forced it to withdraw its troops from the neighboring country.

Assad said last month that establishing diplomatic ties with Lebanon would be possible if a national unity Cabinet is formed in Beirut. Such a government, including members of Syria's ally Hezbollah, was formed Friday after weeks of haggling.

New Lebanese-Syrian diplomatic ties would be a boost for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is hosting Sunday's sweeping launch of the Union for the Mediterranean. He has said the body could transform the volatile Mediterranean basin into a region of peace and prosperity, though his initial vision has been heavily watered down by the European Union.

Assad and Suleiman were both meeting separately with Sarkozy on Saturday before joint talks hosted by Sarkozy and mediated by the emir of Qatar.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, meanwhile, said Saturday a "wind of hope" is in the air around the Sunday summit and urged leaders present to push for progress on Middle East peace talks.

The leaders are launching France's plan for a Mediterranean Union aimed at tackling problems involving nations around the sea, from illegal immigration to pollution.

Underlying the summit are longstanding rivalries: between Israel and Syria, whose leaders will be at the same table for the first time; between Syria and Lebanon; and between Israel and the Palestinians.

"I'm sorry to say, talks between the Israelis and Palestinians are not part of this wind of hope," Kouchner said.

Still, he said, "I believe that even being around the same table is ... the beginning of something."

Sarkozy's meeting with Assad was also exceptional, the first such high-level French-Syrian meeting in years. Ties between Paris and Damascus soured over the assassination of Hariri, who was close to French leaders.

Suleiman, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan all expressed hope separately Saturday that the summit would increase chances for stability in the region.

Sarkozy met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Saturday to discuss the summit, which the two men will co-chair.

The gathering is to be held at the grandiose, glass-domed Grand Palais, with rooms set aside for private talks. The event will be capped Monday with dozens of leaders attending France's national Bastille Day military parade as special guests.

Sarkozy hoped the Mediterranean Union would become a pillar of his presidency and France's leadership of the European Union, which it holds until the end of the year. But it overlaps with expensive European projects in progress.

The new union is to include at least 43 nations, all of which are sending a president or prime minister to the summit. Libya, whose leader Moammar Gadhafi has objected to the whole idea, is sending a minister as observer.

Associated Press writer Christine Ollivier contributed to this report.

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