Source: Agencies, 04-06-2008
BEIRUT: Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Tuesday that diplomatic representation between Beirut and Damascus was a Syrian demand dating back to 2005. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, in his inaugural speech, also raised the matter of diplomatic relations between the two countries and addressed the issue of border demarcation.
"The problem is not between Lebanon and Syria but between the former and 'Israel'. Part of the Lebanese territory is still occupied," Assad told journalists in Abu Dhabi.
"Once this problem is solved, we will be ready to draw the border with Lebanon," he added.
Assad also said that Damascus was ready to deal with any "national government" in Lebanon, regardless of the identity of its members.
Meanwhile, Lebanese newspaper As-Safir said on Tuesday that Assad has reportedly decided to postpone an official visit to Lebanon that had been expected in mid-June until the end of his Arab tour.
The newspaper added that Assad's visit will constitute a "turning point" in the history of Lebanese-Syrian relations where the Syrian president is expected to announce from the Presidential Palace in Baabda normalization of relations between the two countries, including an exchange of ambassadors.
Citing well-informed sources, As-Safir said Damascus, which had sent an invitation to Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun to visit Syria, has decided to convey similar invitations to a number of Lebanese leaders.
The sources said Aoun accepted the invitation and promised to visit Damascus once Assad ends his Lebanon trip.
Assad, who arrived in Abu Dhabi Sunday, went to Kuwait on Saturday. He also visited Dubai, where he met with the emirate's ruler, Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum.
The two leaders discussed "the peace process in the Middle East" and the situation in the Arab world, the UAE's official WAM news agency said. They hailed the recent Lebanese reconciliation accord.
Al-Assad said direct peace talks with 'Israel' are unlikely before 2009, adding they also depended on the stability of 'Israel's' government, an Emirati newspaper reported on Tuesday. "The date to begin direct talks depends on 'Israel' itself. There is a crisis related to ['Israeli' Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert," Al-Khaleej daily quoted Assad as telling local newspaper editors during a visit to the United Arab Emirates.
Olmert has been dogged by a corruption scandal in recent weeks, and many analysts believe he may be forced to resign or call early elections.
Direct talks would not start before next year and "depend on the stability of the 'Israeli' government, and the seriousness of the other party," Assad said, ac-cording to the newspaper, which paraphrased his remarks.
Assad, who concluded a visit to the UAE on Tuesday, said that the Turkish-brokered indirect talks with 'Israel' would eventually need "international sponsorship" from the United States.
Assad later Tuesday traveled to Kuwait City, where he held talks with Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The talks focused on "bilateral relations and regional and international developments," the official KUNA news agency said.