Palestinian leaders began a historic visit to Lebanon Wednesday after the two sides were locked in icy relations over the past two decades.  

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, and Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, currently on a regional Arab tour, arrived in Beirut with an eye to promote bilateral ties after late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died on November 11.

The Palestinian delegation held talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Prime Minister Omar Karameh and National Assembly President Nabih Berri over issues of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, bilateral relations and the Middle East peace process.

After the meeting, Abbas, or better known as Abu Mazen, expressed optimism on the outcome of the talks, describing the talks as turning over a new leaf in the relations between the two countries.

Abbas added that there would be more visits by the Palestinian side to further enhance the improving ties.

Lebanon was the fourth leg of the delegation's tour, which had already taken them to Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

This was the first high-profile Palestinian visit to the country since Lebanon drove out the Arafat-led PLO following an Israeli invasion in 1982. Israeli army besieged Beirut with a declared aim of ousting PLO guerrillas.

Relations between the two countries have been strained because some Lebanese questioned the role Palestinian militants played in Lebanon's civil war in 1975-1990.

Lebanon opposed the Oslo accords Arafat signed with Israel in 1993.

Lebanon, home to around 350,000 Palestinian refugees, also feared the mostly Sunni Palestinian refugees would shatter the delicate sectarian balance in the country, where Shiite, Sunni and Christian co-existed.

However, relations between the two countries were expected to take a positive turn following a thaw in the Palestinian-Syrian ties. Syria is a major power broker in Lebanon's politics.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2004)