Syrian sources participating in the summit on Wednesday between Lebanese President Michel Sleiman and his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, said that the meeting lasted three hours, and the atmosphere was excellent and amicable.

This landmark visit is the first time a Lebanese president travels to Syria since Damascus withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005. Presidents Sleiman and Assad did, however, meet in July in Paris during the Mediterranean Union Summit, where they agreed to hold talks.

The Syrian sources told NOW Lebanon that Wednesday’s discussions covered exchanging ambassadors, border demarcation, the Lebanese missing and detained in Syrian prisons and reviewing past treaties and accords between the two countries.

They added that the topics were discussed in a transparent way, in a comfortable and clear atmosphere, and the presidents spoke of their desire to return the relations between both countries to normal.

Assad’s Presidential Counselor for Politics Bussaina Shaaban said in a statement after the meeting that both sides agreed to begin making preparations to exchange embassies, which means adopting an official resolution and signing a memorandum between both countries’ foreign ministries.

NOW Lebanon’s sources added that presidents Sleiman and Assad agreed to write a general text about border demarcation that serves both sides’ interests, and they will also discuss the treaties previously signed between the two countries.

The sources continued that both sides reached agreement about activating the work of the committee investigating the fate of the detained and missing Lebanese in Syrian prisons, which they will announce after the second day of meeting, on Thursday.

During the meeting, President Assad expressed his condemnation of Wednesday’s explosion in Tripoli, where a bomb blew up near a bus, killing more than a dozen people, nine of whom were soldiers, and wounding almost 50. Syria's Foreign Ministry released a statement calling the attack a "criminal act" and expressing support for Lebanon "in the face of all those who are manipulating its security and stability."

The sources told NOW Lebanon that President Assad was quoted as expressing Syria’s interest in cooperating closely with President Sleiman, who he considers the basis of their “brotherly relations.”

Both presidents will issue a common statement, which Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh and his Syrian counterpart, Walid Mouallem, will read the during a press conference on Thursday.   

Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa told the press on Thursday he was pleased with the meeting’s success, but stressed that the situation in Lebanon and the region is still precarious.

-NOW Staff