Syria Recognizes Lebanon's Sovereignty After 60 Years

Syria and Lebanon established diplomatic relations on Oct. 15, some 60 years after gaining independence from France in the mid-1940s.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, who signed the declaration jointly with Syrian Foreign Minister Waleed al-Muallem, said Lebanese-Syrian relations were friendlier than ever.

Syrian politicians, along with a majority of their Lebanese counterparts, say the exchange of embassies is only a formality between the two brotherly states. This may be so, but the fact remains that Syria has never considered Lebanon a sovereign state. On the other hand, it saw Lebanon as an inalienable part of "Greater Syria," which once included the territory of modern Lebanon.

It is true that Syria has played a positive role in Lebanon's recent history, in particular during the 1975-1990 civil war. It deployed 35,000 soldiers to Lebanon to disengage the warring sides and prevent the country's disintegration. However, the Syrians did not leave after the civil war ended, but remained in Lebanon "to keep the peace" until 2005.

This is why some Lebanese see their "Syrian brothers" as liberators, while others curse them as occupiers. Moreover, the ruling Lebanese clans have changed their attitude toward Syria more than once, at times seeing them as friends, and other times as enemies.

Bilateral relations were most recently shattered after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005. The West immediately blamed the murder on Syria's military intelligence chief, Assef Shawkat, and declared a boycott of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Syria's isolation lasted until French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared, at the Mediterranean Union Summit held in Paris last July and attended by the Syrian president, that Syria and Lebanon should establish diplomatic relations.

However, the two countries reconciled only when Lebanon elected a new president, Michel Suleiman, a figure of compromise between the pro-Western majority in parliament – the Mustaqbal movement led by Saad Hariri, the son of the assassinated Rafik Hariri – and the opposition Hezbollah movement, backed by Syrian and Iranian Shiites.

This compromise has cost the pro-Western forces in Lebanon dearly, given that, at a meeting in Doha last May, they gave the opposition the right to veto bills. At the same time, a national unity government of 30 ministers was formed, in which 16 represent the ruling coalition, 11 the opposition, and three are appointed by the president.

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