Lebanon, Syria open diplomatic relations

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman agreed yesterday to establish diplomatic relations between their countries at ambassadorial level, a Syrian official said. Damascus has been under pressure from the US and other...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese President Michel Suleiman agreed yesterday to establish diplomatic relations between their countries at ambassadorial level, a Syrian official said.

Damascus has been under pressure from the US and other governments including France to treat its smaller neighbour more as a sovereign state by taking steps including opening a Beirut embassy and demarcating borders with Lebanon.

"The two presidents... have instructed their foreign ministers to take the necessary steps in this regard, starting from today," Buthaina Shaaban, an adviser to President Assad said.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.