Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Al-Assad moves on Lebanon ties

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - Al-Assad moves on Lebanon ties: "Al-Assad moves on Lebanon ties
Sleiman, right, travelled to Damascus in August to meet al-Assad [AFP]

Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, has issued a decree which paves the way for the opening of full diplomatic ties with Lebanon, the official Sana news agency said.

The decree says that Damascus would open an embassy in neighbouring Lebanon for the first time since the two countries gained independence from France in the 1940s.

The decree provides for 'the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Lebanese republic and the creation of a diplomatic mission at ambassador level in the Lebanese capital Beirut,' Sana reported on Tuesday.

Lebanon and Syria agreed to establish formal diplomatic relations during a visit by Michel Sleiman, the Lebanese president, to Damascus in August.

Fawzi Salloukh, Lebanon's foreign minister, said that he would travel to Damascus on Wednesday to discuss the mechanism for establishing ties with Walid al-Moualem, hsi Syrian counterpart.

Syrian officials have said they expect ambassadors to be exchanged before the end of this year.

Friendship and co-operation

Syria's official Al-Watan newspaper said that Damascus' ambassador to Beirut would face a number of challenges such as 'the cases of missing Syrians a"