Beirut (AsiaNews) - Positive reactions to the appointment of the first Syrian ambassador to Lebanon, which took place yesterday. Today, the United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon, Michael Williams, said that this step "will further contribute to stability in Lebanon." A similar sentiment came from Paris, with a statement from the Élysée calling the event "historic."
The appointment of the Syrian ambassador, which follows that of the Lebanese representative to Damascus at the beginning of the year, Williams emphasized, is "a really welcome development" that "completes the process of establishing diplomatic relations between Syria and Lebanon," which has never before happened in the 60 years since their independence. Until now, this was due to the Syrian claim of "special ties" with Lebanon, over which Damascus always had designs and dominated militarily and politically for almost 30 years, until 2005.
The news of the appointment of the Syrian ambassador has been covered widely, and not only in the Arab media: the Chinese agency Xinhua, for example, in recalling the previous opening of the Lebanese embassy in Damascus, notes that "the Lebanese flag flew for the first time in the neighboring country after decades of turbulent relations."
From the Arab side, Gulfnews recalls that "Syria has faced international pressure to establish formal diplomatic ties with Lebanon," and that the "establishment of formal relations had been a central demand of anti-Syrian Lebanese factions that won an election in 2005."
The first Syrian ambassador to Beirut, who yesterday received the "approval" of Lebanese president Michel Suleiman, will be Ali Abdel Karim Ali, 56, who since 2004 has been the representative of Damascus in Kuwait. Before this, he was director of the state radio network, then of the television network and the official news agency SANA.
His appointment comes five months after October 15, 2008, when the two countries agreed to establish normal diplomatic relations.
The first Lebanese embassy in Damascus was opened last week, and Michel Khoury, the current Lebanese representative in Cyprus, was appointed its ambassador. A career diplomat, he was the ambassador to Holland, and, before that, served in Great Britain, Brazil, and Mexico. He was also the director of the office of administrative and financial affairs at the Foreign Ministry.
