Saad Hariri Starts Historic Visit to Damascus, Meets Assad

 
Local Editor, 19-12-2009
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Damascus...

Finally, and for the first time since more than four years, Saad Hariri, the son of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, paid on Saturday a 'historic' visit to Damascus, opening therefore a new "page" between the two neighbors...

The 'historic' visit comes a few days after Hariri's government gained the confidence of the Parliament based on a policy statement that was clear in defining the Lebanese-Syrian relations as "special"...

Hariri arrived in Damascus on Saturday to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad for the first time ever since both leaders rose to power.
Two planes carrying the media delegation that will accompany Hariri during his first visit to Syria landed a few minutes prior to his arrival.

The visit will last for around five hours and will be concluded by a dinner thrown by the Syrian president in honor of Hariri.

The 39-year-old premier has had tense ties with Syria ever since the massive Beirut bombing in February 2005 that killed his father and 22 others, pointing his finger at Damascus at the time.
Damascus has consistently denied involvement in the crime and fully cooperated with the UN team that was investigating the murder.