Lebanon’s first ambassador to Syria takes office

Lebanon’s first ambassador to Syria takes office

Lebanon’s first ambassador to Syria has taken up his post in Damascus in the latest sign of improving relations between the two neighbors after years of tensions.

Career diplomat Michel Khoury assumed his duties Monday as Lebanon’s first ambassador to Syria more than a month after Lebanon opened its first ever embassy in Damascus.

Syria opened an embassy in Beirut in December. The opening of embassies in both countries sealed the establishment of full diplomatic relations between the long-feuding rivals for the first time since they gained independence from France in the 1940s.

Relations between the two countries reached a turning point in August when they agreed to establish ties and demarcate their contentious border.