By Suzan Haidamous, Xinhua,
Beirut : Lebanese President Michel Suleiman is faced with a tough mission during his upcoming two-day official visit to Syria, local analysts said.
Among other thorny issues, the establishment of diplomatic ties and the opening of embassies will top the agenda of the meeting between Suleiman and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad.
Their forthcoming meeting, which would mark a new era in ties between the two neighbors, comes following a series of crises which shook the bilateral relations since 2004 when the Syrians pressed to prolong the mandate of former pro-Damascus President Emile Lahoud.
Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, ending nearly 30 years of military presence in the country.
RULING MAJORITY DISPLEASED
The general atmosphere in Lebanon and fresh verbal attacks by majority lawmakers in parliament during the past days against Hezbollah’s weapons are considered an assault against the opposition’s backers Syria and Iran, As-Safir daily said in its opening page Tuesday.
Future TV station owned by majority leader Saad Hariri hosted on the eve of the Lebanese president’s visit to Damascus, former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam and a number of Syrian opposition leaders who are in exile.
This move was seen as a sign of disagreement on Suleiman’s visit, observers said.
Moreover, a political bureau member of pro-government Christian Phalange party told Al-Akhbar daily that the Syrian invitation to the Lebanese president was “not positive, because there was no invitation sent to Premier Fouad Seniora to participate in the meeting as well.”
OPPOSITION SUPPORTS VISIT
“The opposition supports the visit of President Suleiman to Syria, in order to establish good relations between the neighboring countries,” analyst Nader Fawze told Al-Akhbar daily Tuesday.
He stressed that the opposition trusts “the wisdom of President Suleiman and his political choice.”
Opposition sources were quoted by the newspaper as saying that “President Suleiman is aware that it is not in the interest of his regime to be in a state of animosity with Syria the way it has been since 2005.”
“The president will tackle many issues of interest between the two countries, and these discussions mean the president intends toimprove relations,” the sources added.
The Hezbollah-led opposition has been in close relations with Syria, even after the Syrians pulled out of Lebanon in April 2005 following nearly three decades of its military presence there.
The Christian opposition headed by MP Michel Aoun had been in a state of war with Syria since 1989. Aoun was forced by Syria into exile in 1990 and returned in 2005 after Syria withdrew from its small neighbor.
NEW ERA OF DIALOGUE
“Whether the Syrian-Lebanese summit succeeds in resolving all hanging issues or not, the most important outcome from the meeting would be a new era of dialogue between them,” Fawze said.
The mission of the Lebanese president will not be an easy one, but still a needed one, he concluded.
The demarcation of borders between Lebanon and Syria, and the Lebanese detainees and missing persons in Syria would be tough subjects to tackle.
Well-informed sources, however, said “an agreement concerning the detainees and missing persons in Syria will be reached through the Syrian-Lebanese Higher Council” formed in 1991.
President Suleiman was reported to have agreed on keeping the council functioning, however, he wants a “clear definition of the council’s mission and task so that they do not overlap with Syrian and Lebanese ambassadors,” Al-Liwa daily said.