Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued Tuesday a resolution to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon and open a Syrian embassy in Lebanon, a Lebanese government source said, DPA reported. The official source said Lebanon's Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh was due to visit Damascus on Wednesday to discuss "steps to be taken" in this regard between the two neigbouring countries. Al-Assad did not specify an exact date for the embassy's opening in Beirut, Al-Arabia television channel reported. Syria, during a visit by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman last month, said it was ready to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon for the first time since independence from France more than 60 years ago. Syria and Lebanon have not had full-fledged embassies in each other's capitals since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945.
