U.S. officials said a visit by Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Damascus "came at the right time," adding that a decision by President Barack Obama to return a U.S. ambassador to Syria after a four-year hiatus will come soon.
An-Nahar daily, citing senior U.S. Administration officials, said Friday that the new U.S. ambassador will be appointed "in just a few weeks."
It said the new U.S. action also includes a visit by Regional Affairs for Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell to Syria and Lebanon early in 2010.
The U.S. officials said Mitchell”s regional tour will focus on "chances to move the Syrian-Israeli path forward."
When asked about what Lebanon”s status would be in light of renewed U.S.-Syrian relations, the officials stressed that Washington would "continue its strong support for Lebanon."
"Any improvement in ties with Damascus won”tt take place at Lebanon”s expense," one official said.
Washington withdrew its ambassador from Syria in 2005 to protest ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri”s assassination.
Relations between Syria and the U.S. improved, however, after Obama took office in January and U.S. officials said he was committed to seeking a peace deal between Syria and Israel as part of an overall Middle East peace deal.
But Syria remains under U.S. sanctions, partly because of what the United States describes as a Syrian role in helping insurgents infiltrate Iraq.