Muallem from Lebanon: Damascus Determined to Establish Diplomatic Ties with Lebanon
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem on Monday delivered an invitation to Lebanese President Michel Suleiman from his counterpart Bashar al-Assad to visit Damascus and stressed that Syria was determined to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon.
Muallem”s trip was set to usher in a new page in relations, but a number of thorny issues must be tackled before full diplomatic ties are established.
After an hour-long meeting with Suleiman, Muallem told a news conference that the Lebanese president will visit Damascus soon and that contacts between the two sides will help set a date for the visit.
"We are determined to open an embassy in Lebanon and exchange diplomatic relations with it," he stressed.
He said a Lebanese-Syrian committee is dealing with the issue of Lebanese detainees in Syrian jails and "we hope that it would conclude its work soon."
"The Lebanese and Syrian governments will have to exchange visits to work for the interest of their people," Muallem added, stressing that "No one can impose anything on Lebanon if it was united."
On the issue of demarcating the Lebanese-Syrian border, Muallem said "nothing prevents" the Lebanese from doing so.
Muallem said that Syria felt a shift in U.S. policy toward the region.
Families of Lebanese detainees in Syrian jails attempted to approach Muallem”s convoy as it drove to Baabda Palace, but were stopped by army troops.
As the meeting between Suleiman and Muallem was underway, the demonstrators – demanding a settlement of the issue of prisoners in Syria — clashed with the Lebanese army outside the presidential palace. The dispute, however, was quickly contained.
Lebanon and Syria said earlier this month that they had agreed to establish diplomatic relations and planned to open embassies in both capitals for the first time since independence from French colonial rule more than 60 years ago.
Picture: A Lebanese woman holds a picture of her brother, whom she says is held in a jail in Syria, during a protest coinciding with Syria”s Foreign Affairs Minister Walid Muallem”s visit to the Baabda presidential palace near Beirut July 21, 2008.
REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON)