Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Hariri planning second trip to Damascus

|
|
 
  
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. UPI/Eco Clement 
Published: March. 11, 2010 at 12:50 PM

BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 11 (UPI) -- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced plans to make a second trip to Damascus this month to strengthen bilateral relations.

Hariri during Cabinet deliberations said it was necessary reconsider the Lebanese-Syrian relationship and suggest improvements where needed, Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper reports Thursday.

Information Minister Tariq Mitri said Hariri would head to Damascus after wrapping up an official state visit to Germany later this week.

Hariri described a December meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad as a sign that "new horizons" were emerging in bilateral ties.

That trip was Hariri's first since the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the current prime minister's father. The prime minister, along with several Lebanese lawmakers and many in the international community, believes Syria played a role in the assassination.

Syria, however, has moved recently to reach out to the international community.

Syrian and Lebanese relations improved when the countries exchanged ambassadors in 2009. Washington followed suit with Damascus this year.

Topics: Rafik Hariri
© 2010 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The making of the Oscars The Chicago Auto Show Mercedes-Benz fashion week In New York
Tu Bishvat Migron settlement The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China The White House Science Fair
Additional Special Reports Stories
1 of 19
Tiger Woods plays Spyglass Hill in the AT&T Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, California
View Caption
fark
Cutting out the middle man ... antiques dealer with late stage cancer hosting her own estate sale...
Customer from grocery store finds hand grenade hidden among potatoes
Cop pulls gun on woman for taking too many items through the self-check out at WalMart, because...
Fan of British sitcom "Red Dwarf" escapes Philadelphia Police custody. Last seen wearing handcuffs...
Paul and Storm request your help to petition the NFL to have Weird Al Yankovic perform the SuperBowl...
During the Super Bowl did you notice the new retractable roof at Lucas Oil Stadium? How about the...