As Syrian-Lebanese rapprochement is cemented, broader policy shifts may follow, Bassel Oudat writes from Damascus Speaking to reporters in Beirut Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al-Muallem said his visit "will turn a new page in relations between the two countries". A day earlier, he announced in Damascus that the two countries should be able to "maintain equitable relations in various fields and lay the foundations for solid ties". While in Beirut, Al-Muallem delivered a message from the Syrian president to his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Suleiman, inviting him to visit Syria as soon as he is able. The Lebanese president is expected to go to Damascus when the Siniora government announces its programme, in which it is likely to speak of a new era in which Lebanon's ties with Syria would be based on mutual respect and interests. Since Rafik Al-Hariri's assassination three years ago, relations between the two countries have been marred by accusations and hostility. This changed when Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and Suleiman met in Paris, first in the presence of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifah, then in two sessions of private talks. Ahead of the Paris meetings, Sarkozy said that Syria agreed to exchange ambassadors with Lebanon. The French president also commended Syrian conduct during the Doha talks among Lebanese factions. While in Beirut, Al-Muallem had time to discuss the future course of bilateral ties. More talks would be needed if the two sides were to dispel the mistrust that marked their relations until recently. The Lebanese parliamentary "majority" used to say that Syria was opposed to Lebanon's independence and sovereignty. Many Lebanese see the earlier refusal of Damascus to draw borders between the two countries and exchange ambassadors as evidence of Syria's ill intentions towards Lebanon. One of the issues that the Syrians and Lebanese need to discuss is that of the Higher Council the two countries used to have. The council, which hasn't met in the past three years, consists of the presidents, speakers and prime ministers of both countries. It was designed to meet regularly to assess various decisions related to both countries. Despite its extensive powers, the council remained largely ceremonial and many would want to see it disbanded. Successive Syrian governments refused to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon ever since the countries gained independence in the mid- 1940s. The Syrians argued that the creation of Lebanon was a compromise reached hastily before independence between Sunnis who wanted unity with Syria and Maronites who wanted close ties with France. Syrian governments discouraged the use of passports for citizens of both countries, and to this day Lebanese and Syrians can cross common borders with their local identity cards. Lebanese and Syrians also own property on both sides of the border without having to go through the same registration procedures as other non-nationals. Such arrangements may have to be reviewed once the two countries establish diplomatic ties. The two countries will have to draw their borders, especially the Shebaa Farms area occupied by Israel since 1967 and that claims that it belongs to Syria though most Lebanese and Syrians agree that it is part of Lebanon. So far, Syria has refused to draw the borders until Israel withdraws, though to many this position is bewildering. It might help to remember that the two countries created a committee to draw the borders in 1966, but once the 1967 war broke out the committee's work was discontinued. Now is perhaps a good time to revive that committee's task. The Syrian-Lebanese Higher Council approved several bilateral agreements in economic and financial areas during the period of Syrian presence in Lebanon. Many believe that these agreements were unfair to the Lebanese and need to be revised. The normalisation of relations has been met with satisfaction in Lebanon, both among the former "opposition" and the former "majority". Hizbullah and Amal hope that these developments will help Syria maintain some of its former influence in Lebanon. The anti-Syrian "majority" hailed the normalisation of ties as a victory, but voice fears that Damascus may help Hizbullah and Amal win the upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for next spring. All in all, a major watershed has been crossed. Once Syria has determined out its ties with Lebanon, many think it will change tack on other regional matters -- Israel, Palestine and Iraq included.
