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PARIS - Syria and Lebanon said Saturday they have agreed to establish diplomatic relations, opening embassies in either country's capital for the first time since their independence from colonial rule.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the landmark decision following talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, whose election in May ended a drawn-out political crisis in Lebanon. Both leaders afterwards confirmed the decision.
"For France, this is historic progress," Sarkozy told a joint press conference at the Elysee presidential palace.
"Of course there are a number of legal questions that have to be settled... but for us... this announcement is absolutely historic. It is great news for all those who love Lebanon and are concerned by developments there," he said.
Assad confirmed there would soon be an exchange of ambassadors. He told Sarkozy he was determined to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon, according to a joint statement.
"The French president welcomed the Syrian president's strong determination to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon, following the formation of a national unity government," said the statement released by Sarkozy's office.
Relations between Syria and Lebanon have been tense since the forced withdrawal of Syria's troops from the country in April 2005 after the assassination of former billionaire premier Rafiq Hariri.
Syria was widely blamed for the killing but denies involvement.
Assad last month said Damascus was ready to open an embassy in Lebanon once a unity government is formed and develops good relations with Syria.
Lebanon announced a 30-member national unity government on Friday tasked with resolving the country's worst political crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war.
The Syrian and Lebanese leaders met at the French presidential Elysee palace in the presence of Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, whose country brokered the power-sharing deal that enabled Sleiman's election.
Assad, who is among 43 leaders who will launch a new Union for the Mediterranean at a summit in Paris on Sunday, was marking the end of years of isolation in the landmark visit to France, his first since 2001.
His visit comes during France's presidency of the 27-nation European Union, and as France seeks to step up its Middle East diplomacy on the sidelines of the Mediterranean summit.
After the election in May of Lebanon's Sleiman, Sarkozy moved to reward Assad by renewing high-level contacts with Syria.
France was the former colonial ruler in both countries, and continued to maintain close ties with Lebanon.
But Franco-Syrian ties went into a deep freeze after the 2005 assassination Hariri, who was a personal friend of former French leader Jacques Chirac.
The former president cut off all high-level contacts with Syria after repeatedly accusing Damascus of having a hand in Hariri's assassination. Syria has denied the claims.
France and the United States have called on Lebanon and Syria to establish full diplomatic relations to bolster stability since Damascus pulled its troops out of Lebanon in 2005, ending nearly three decades of military presence.
While the United States, which continues to view Syria as a terror state, initially reacted coolly to France's rapprochement with Syria, Washington has since said it is confident Sarkozy is conveying the right message to Damascus on its role in the Middle East.
- AFP /ls
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