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Beirut - Visiting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon urged Lebanon Thursday to work on the process of national reconciliation. “The agreement reached in Doha among the squabbling political factions in May had put the country on a promising path,” Fillon, who was on a two-day visit,said during a joint media briefing with his Lebanese counterpart. (more…)

 Syria and Lebanon have agreed to open embassies in each other’s capital.Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, made the announcement on Saturday as he hosted Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, and Michel Sleiman, his Lebanese counterpart.Al-Assad has also asked France and the US to assist in direct peace talks between his country and Israel.

A joint Franco-Syrian statement issued after al-Assad met Sarkozy in Paris ahead of the Union of the Mediterranean talks, reiterated Damascus’ determination to establish diplomatic relations with neighbouring Lebanon.
Speaking at a joint news conference with al-Assad and Michel Sleiman, Sarkozy said: “I would like to say what a historic step forward it is for France that al-Assad is determined to open a diplomatic representation in Lebanon, and that Lebanon should open a diplomatic representation in Syria.”He said both leaders had authorised him to make the announcement. It would be the first time thetwo countries had full-fledged embassies in each other’s countries since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945.
Sarkozy is also scheduled to visit Syria by mid-September in an effort to build relations between Paris and Damascus. Relations between the two countries have been tense since the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, in 2005, which France believes was orchestrated from Damascus.
France and the US have previously called on Lebanon and Syria to establish full diplomatic relations after Damascus pulled its troops out of Lebanon in 2005, ending nearly three decades of military presence.

‘Diplomatic breakthrough’
Al-Assad was welcomed in Paris for a meeting at the Elysee palace before joining 40 other foreign leaders.
The Syrian president is among 43 leaders who will launch a so-called Union for the Mediterranean at a summit in Paris on Sunday.Al Jazeera’s Jacky Rowland, speaking in the French capital, said al-Assad is soaking up the international exposure from this trip.

She said: “The Syrian president’s willingness to build ties with Lebanon, which have been strained for so long, is music to French ears.
“This is also something that Sarkozy will take credit for, and essentially see this as a diplomatic breakthrough.”
Al-Assad met Michel Sleiman, the Lebanese president, the first time since he was elected in May, ending Lebanon’s worst political crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar’s emir, whose country brokered the power-sharing deal that ended the country’s crisis, also met the two leaders.However, a meeting between al-Assad and Ehud Olmert, Israel’s prime minister, has been ruled out.
Sarkozy also raised human rights issues during his one-on-one talks with Assad on Saturday and try to advance the Israeli-Syrian peace process, aides said.

Constructive role

Despite concerns over Syria’s rights record, France sees Assad’s willingness to take part in the new Mediterranean forum and its indirect talks with Israel as signs that Damascus is seeking a more constructive role in the Middle East.
While the US continues to view Syria as a “terror state”, France under Sarkozy has moved to renew high-level ties that suffered as a result of the 2005 assassination of al-Hariri, Lebanese ex-premier, who was a personal friend of Jacques Chirac, the former French president.

Israel and Syria, which technically remain at war since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, have held three rounds of indirect talks through Turkey since March, raising peace prospects after an eight-year break.

Sarkozy has invited leaders from 44 countries, including Arab nations and Israel, for the founding summit of the union aimed at boosting co-operation between EU and bordering Mediterranean states.

On Monday, the Syrian leader will join about a dozen leaders to watch the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs Elysees during France’s national celebrations.

However France’s Bernard Kouchner, the foreign minister, last month commented that he was “not particularly pleased” by al-Assad’s presence at the July 14 national fete.While al-Assad will be applauding troops marching in the Bastille Day parade, Chirac will be conspicuous by his absence. 
Officials have denied the former president’s decision to stay away was linked to al-Assad.Al-Assad’s visit comes during France’s presidency of the 27-nation European Union.

The Lebanese government announced Friday it has reached a unity Cabinet aimed at stabilizing the country torn by internal strife.

Supporters carry posters of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah during demonstrations in May.

In keeping with a deal sponsored by the Arab League, the new Cabinet gives 11 seats to Hezbollah and the militant group’s allies that oppose the government, 16 to the government and three to the Lebanese president to fill by appointment. The agreement gives Hezbollah veto power.

The Cabinet’s first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

Lebanon’s Western-backed government and its Hezbollah-led opposition reached a deal in May aimed at ending an 18-month political crisis that pushed the country to the brink of civil war.

As part of the deal, the Parliament named Gen. Michel Sleiman president, filling a six-month vacancy created by the November departure of President Emile Lahoud. Sleiman then appointed Western ally Fouad Siniora as prime minister.

The agreement came out of a May meeting at Doha, Qatar, when the Hezbollah opposition agreed to end its sit-in protest that had paralyzed downtown Beirut since late 2006 in exchange for veto power and a redistricting plan ahead of next year’s elections.

Earlier in May, armed Hezbollah supporters took to the streets of Beirut after Lebanon’s government banned a telecommunications system used by the Shiite militia.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called the government’s attempts to control the militia “a declaration of open war” and vowed that his supporters would defend themselves.

Minutes after his address, Hezbollah gunmen exchanged fire with pro-government militias in the streets of Beirut. The violence spread across other areas of Lebanon, and soon became the worst outbreak of internal strife to hit the country since the end of its civil war in 1991.

The fighting ended a week later when the Lebanese government gave in to two key Hezbollah demands — lifting a government ban of Hezbollah’s telecommunications system and reinstating the chief of security at Beirut’s airport.

11/7/2008-  Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has accused the March 14 majority of “squandering justice and the justice ministry.” (more…)

10/7/2008- The Lebanese Army on Thursday bolstered its troops in Tripoli and deployed in the contested districts of Baal Mohsen and Bab Tabbaneh with orders to “firmly confront” whoever sparks clashes. (more…)

9/7/2008-Premier-designate Fouad Saniora said after meeting President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday he was pleased with the majority’s progress towards naming its ministers to the forthcoming cabinet that he hopes would be formed prior to the president’s July 12 visit to France. (more…)

9/7/2008- Mustaqbal Movement leader Saad Hariri has reportedly worked out a settlement to distribute seats among forces of the March 14 majority giving the justice portfolio to the Lebanese Forces and the public works ministry to the Progressive Socialist Party. (more…)

9/7/2008- Clashes raged in the northern city of Tripoli Wednesday between minority and majority partisans, killing at least two people and wounding 28, according to police and hospital records. (more…)

8/7/2008- The Saudi government has urged the Lebanese to invest in the Doha accord, which ended Lebanon’s political crisis, in the interest of their country. (more…)

8/7/2008- Syrian President Bashar Assad has said there would be no need for weapons when a broad Middle East peace deal is reached, adding that there were plans for him to meet his Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman in Paris. (more…)

8/7/2008- Three obstacles from both the opposition and the pro-government camp were on Tuesday reportedly facing the formation of a new cabinet.The pan-Arab Al Hayat newspaper said the obstacles facing the government formation were: (more…)

1/7/2008- New offers were reportedly made to Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun in yet another attempt to end the five-week-old government crisis. (more…)