Assad”s offer to defuse the tension in Lebanon is a welcome one
Syrian President Bashar Assad has pushed the "reset" button on policy toward Lebanon, judging from his remarks published in Al-Akhbar newspaper. Assad said he was willing to abolish or amend the bilateral agreements between Lebanon and Syria, and with them the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council, a relic of the post-Civil War era of tutelage by Damascus.
Assad”s remarks on Lebanon might not have pleased everyone; he stated a willingness to demarcate the countries” borders everywhere but in the Shebaa Farms region, and had nothing new to say on the issue of Lebanese detainees in Syrian prisons, but defended his regime”s actions with a degree of transparency.
He also mentioned his coordination with President Michel Sleiman, on issues like the Syrian-Israeli pre-negotiations process, being mediated by Turkey. But Assad was most effusive on the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council and related agreements, noting that the two countries” embassies could now be involved in regulating relations. Overall, he implied a willingness to work together, state-to-state.
Assad”s sentiments were preceded by overtures in the last few months: Walid Jumblatt and Saad Hariri”s comments that they wanted good relations with Syria, followed by a similar sentiment expressed by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem about ties with Beirut.
Assad”s remarks came during a session with Lebanese journalists on the sidelines of a high-profile conference on Syrian-Lebanese relations. On Monday, Lebanon”s embassy in Damascus will have its official opening ceremony.
The three events – Assad”s remarks, the conference and the embassy ceremony – come together as a reminder of the movement under way in the region. Diplomatic and political efforts are being made to engineer a period of calm, as new approaches to thorny problems are being thrashed out.
Such a policy by Assad translates into help for Syria on several fronts: with the Turks as they sound out the Israelis, and with Damascus” problematic relations with Cairo and Riyadh, as well as the Europeans and the Americans. Syria”s tense relationship with Lebanon has been a problem for all of these actors, and Assad”s offer to defuse the tension, by sorting out the countries” economic and institutional links, is a welcome one. It”s made all the important by the fact that we are a climate of uncertainty and danger on the international economic scene, and a country like Lebanon is the only place that can offer Syria an economic buffer to weather the difficulties. Sorting out the best way to engage its neighbor, via its official institutions, is a truly important task for Lebanon, as well as Syria.