Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Syrian President Bashar Assad decided Tuesday to meet in Damascus in the near future, after the two officials held a meeting on the sidelines of the Arab League summit in Khartoum. "I told President Assad I want to schedule a meeting with him and Syrian officials in Damascus to discuss demarcating the borders and establishing diplomatic relations," Siniora told reporters.Assad, whose relations with the anti-Syrian coalition dominating the Lebanese Cabinet are strained over the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, welcomed the idea, according to the premier. Siniora quoted the Syrian president as having responded: "we should carefully prepare our agenda before we meet."
However, Syrian sources in Khartoum denied any such agreement, saying Assad and Siniora "simply shook hands" in their first encounter since July 2005. Siniora said upon his arrival in Khartoum Monday night that he would seek a meeting with Assad after Lebanon's leading politicians decided the premier should follow up on recent decisions made during an ongoing national dialogue in Beirut.
The relevant agreements pertained to demarcating the borders and the occupied Shebaa Farms. Siniora, who attended the summit despite the presence of President Emile Lahoud "for more adequate Lebanese representation," did not participate in the opening session. The premier had said the night before that he would attend the event.