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Syria to appoint envoy to Lebanon soon

DAMASCUS, Syria, March 18 (UPI) -- Syria, which opened its first embassy in Lebanon in December, will appoint its ambassador to Beirut in the near future, the Syrian deputy foreign minister said.

Syria and Lebanon have moved closer to improving their diplomatic ties in recent months. Syria opened its first Lebanese embassy in December, and Lebanon followed suit Monday, opening its first embassy in Damascus.

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The two countries have been without formal diplomatic ties since they were carved out of the Ottoman Empire in 1920. Syria, however, has loomed large in Lebanon, influencing the political landscape there for years.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad told Qatari newspaper al-Watan he was not interested in taking the position, instead saying an ambassador would be appointed soon.

He added the renewed diplomatic ties were in part the result of talks between Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Suleiman.

The exchange of embassies, Miqdad said, symbolized the "strong and historical" ties between Lebanon and Syria, Lebanese news agency Tayyar reports.

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