Assad: Syria supports Lebanon stability

Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has voiced support for any measure enhancing Lebanon’s stability, unity and trust among the Lebanese people.

He made the remark during talks with his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman at the presidential palace in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Tuesday, according to the state-run Syrian SANA news agency.

Assad also discussed effective mechanisms to ensure the promotion of national solidarity and to defuse potential tensions with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman.

This comes as a US-backed tribunal is probing the assassination of Lebanon’s former Premier Rafiq al-Hariri, who was killed along with more than 20 others in a massive car bomb blast in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

The US-sponsored Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was set up by the United Nations and the Lebanese government in May 2007 to investigate the murder. The tribunal is expected to announce its findings by the end of 2010.

Sleiman visited Damascus in mid-June and discussed optimal solutions to Lebanon’s tensions with President Assad and the Saudi monarch, King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz.

The Syrian government advised the United States against interfering in King Abdullah’s visit to Damascus, saying the two countries “know better” how to stabilize the Middle East.

Syria, which held sway for three decades over Lebanon, is trying to open a new chapter in ties with its smaller neighbor.