Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is to visit Syria soon to discuss establishing diplomatic ties with Syria at the invitation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said during his visit to Lebanon on Monday.
The upcoming meeting between al-Assad and Michel Suleiman in Damascus, which would mark a new era in ties between the two neighbors, would tackle several hanging issues, said Hassana Rashid, a professor of political science in the Lebanese University on Wednesday.
Syria only withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, ending nearly 30 years of military presence in the country.
"Tough issues await the upcoming meeting between the two presidents-- some issues are already agreed upon, while others are thorny ones that could keep hanging for some time," said professor Rashid.
The issues are as follows:
-- Establishing diplomatic relations:
Lebanon and Syria said earlier this month in Paris that they have agreed to establish diplomatic relations, and open embassies in both capitals for the first time since their independence from French colonial rule more than 60 years ago.
The announcement was made in a press conference, in the presence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Meanwhile, Muallem stressed during his visit to Beirut, that Lebanon and Syria are capable of "developing a balanced relation in all areas and establishing relations on a solid ground."
-- Demarcating Lebanese Syrian borders:
Lebanese majority leaders have been calling for demarcating the porous Lebanese-Syrian borders, through where weapons are allegedly being smuggled.
"Nothing prevents the Lebanese from doing so," the Syrian foreign minister said on the demarcation issue, but added that "we must take into account the fact that many Syria and Lebanese villages are intertwined, and whether this would harm the residents."
Lebanese attempts to control the borders have failed so far.
-- Return of detainees missing in Syria:
Another thorny and longtime issue is that of Lebanese missing in Syria. The president of a fact-finding committee, MP Fouad Saad said in a radio interview Tuesday that he has a list of 91 Lebanese citizens missing in Syria, and more might still be held in Syrian jails.
Relatives of missing Lebanese attempted Monday to approach Muallem's convoy as it drove to the presidential palace, but were stopped by the Lebanese army. They delivered a memo to the presidential palace officials demanding an end to their kin's ordeal.
Muallem said that a Lebanese-Syrian committee is dealing with the issue, and hoped it would "conclude its work soon".
During the Syrian military presence and the civil war in the country, many Lebanese resisting the occupation were either killed or abducted and kidnapped by the Syrian army.
-- Abrogating treaties signed during Syrian presence:
Druze leader Walid Jumblatt called Monday for abrogating "all prejudicial treaties" between Lebanon and Syria and disbanding the Lebanese-Syrian higher council which was formed at the end of the civil war in 1990.
MP Akram Chaeb also called on the Lebanese parliament to abolish the 1991 Friendship and cooperation treaty which formalized Syrian power control in Lebanon.
According to the professor, though the international efforts, especially the French one succeeded in getting Syrian and Lebanese presidents to agree on beginning a new era of bilateral relations, the road to achieve these objectives is still long and difficult.
The historical issues between the two countries and the diversity of loyalty among the Lebanese groups and sects will continue to play an important role in the future relations between Lebanon and Syria, she said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2008)
