Beirut/Damascus - The presidents of Lebanon and Syria at a bilateral summit in Damascus on Thursday expressed satisfaction at the development of relations between their countries and vowed to pursue closer ties. President Bashar al-Assad vowed "to pursue dialogue in order to fortify consensus among the Lebanese," Syria's state-run SANA news agency reported.
Lebanese President Michel Suleiman for his part stressed that Beirut's special relation with Syria served Lebanon's interests, and that he would continue to work on this relationship.
The Suleiman-Assad summit also tackled the latest regional and international developments, SANA said.
Thursday's summit came only three days after the formation of a new national unity cabinet headed by Premier Saad Hariri, following four months of tough negotiations between Hariri's Western-backed majority coalition and the opposition led by the Islamist group Hezbollah and backed by Syria and Iran.
Sources in Beirut said that Hariri and close ally Walid Jumblatt may visit Damascus in the coming days.
The summit also comes ahead of planned visit by Assad to Paris for talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The Syrian president is expected to head to the French capital later Thursday.
Lebanese-Syrian ties soured after the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, father of Saad Hariri. Damascus and its Lebanese allies were accused of plotting the killing, an allegation that Syria continues to deny.
The murder prompted Syria - until then Lebanon's power broker - to withdraw its troops from Lebanon after a 30-year military presence.
