Suleiman Meets Assad as Hariri Gets “Congrats” Letter from Syria
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman met Thursday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad only three days after formation of a new Cabinet as PM Saad Hariri received a congratulation letter from his Syrian counterpart.
In the letter, Syrian Prime Minister Naji al-Otari extended congratulations and offered "best wishes of success" to Hariri.
Sources close to Hariri did not rule out a visit to Damascus by the Lebanese premier.
They told AFP, however, that the visit "was not imminent."
A spokesman for Suleiman said the Lebanese-Syrian summit dealt with bilateral relations between the two countries.
According to information obtained by the daily As-Safir, the summit, which is expected to give a much-needed impetus to Damascus” "open door" policy, will produce Syrian support for the new Lebanon government.
As-Safir said the summit will also pave the way for the open door policy Damascus has decided to follow in light of the new Lebanese political path after the June parliamentary elections which was also complementary to the Syrian-Saudi political scene.
The summit comes ahead of Assad”s visit to Paris for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Meanwhile, Suleiman said that "there is no winner, no loser in the new government."
The President described as "good" his relationship with Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
"Hariri has good intentions," Suleiman told As-Safir in an interview published Thursday.
"The experience as premier-designate was useful for him (Hariri) because it enabled him to go into deep discussions with Opposition figures," he said.
"This would facilitate the work of the government and build bridges of trust," Suleiman believed.