Lebanese political leaders have agreed to normalize relations
with Syria, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said in Beirut on
Tuesday.
Berri told reporters after the second session of a national
dialogue aimed at resolving Lebanon's domestic differences on key
issues such as the ties with Syria and the disputed Shebaa
Farms.
Berri said participants at the meeting agreed that Lebanon
should establish diplomatic relations with Syria and set up
embassies in each other's territories at an early date, on the
basis of mutual trust and respect.
Relations between the two countries have worsened since former
Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri was murdered in a car bombing
in February 2005, which sparked massive anti-Syria protests across
Lebanon.
Participants also reached consensus that the disputed Shebaa
Farms, now occupied by Israel, is part of Lebanon, and that the
government should take actions to have its status confirmed,
Berrisaid.
The Shebaa Farms lie at the convergence of the
Lebanese-Syrian-Israeli borders and remains under Israeli control
although it withdrew troops from Lebanon in May 2000.
Berri, the organizer of the national dialogue which brought
together 14 leading pro- and anti-Syrian politicians, said that the
third session of the dialogue has been adjourned till March 22.
At the first session starting on March 2, participants agreed to
carry out a thorough investigation into the assassination of Hariri
and set up an international court to try the murderers.
(Xinhua News Agency March 15, 2006)
