May 19, 2010 - Naharnet - Hariri-Assad Hold 4-Hour Meeting Described as 'Very Good'

Prime Minister Saad Hariri held four hours of talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad on Tuesday ahead of a visit to Washington scheduled for May 24.

"The talks were very good," Hariri told the daily Al-Liwa after his return home from Syria.

Hariri believed the meeting with Assad comes in the framework of "consultations" between the two countries.

"I am very satisfied with my meeting with President Assad," he said.

Al-Liwaa said Hariri will visit Jordan on Friday for talks with King Abdullah II.

Hariri's trip, his second official visit to Damascus, follows accusations by Israel and the United States that Syria and Iran are continuing to supply the Lebanese Shiite movement with arms and undermining regional stability. Hariri has rejected these allegations.

Hariri is due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on May 24 and is expected to address the United Nations Security Council the following day.

Lebanon is currently a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

Syrian presidential adviser Bussaina Shaaban hailed the improving ties between Lebanon and Syria.

"Since his last visit to Damascus, relations (between the two countries) have deepened...President Assad warmly welcomes this visit which aims at coordinating policy ahead of (Hariri's) trip to Washington," she told the pro-government Al-Watan newspaper.

"We look favorably on every Arab visit to Washington that explains the Arab position," she added.

Israeli President Shimon Peres sparked controversy last month when he accused Syria of supplying Hizbullah with Scud missiles, a claim Damascus has staunchly rejected.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made similar accusations in April, saying Syria and Iran were providing Hizbullah with rockets and missiles of ever-increasing capability.

During Hariri's December visit to Syria, the first since the 2005 assassination of his father, ex-premier Rafik Hariri, he expressed his desire for "privileged, sincere and honest relations...in the interest of both countries and both peoples."

Hariri and his allies from the majority March 14 coalition have in the past blamed Syria for the murder and for a series of subsequent political assassinations in Lebanon. Damascus has denied any involvement.

Syria dominated Lebanon for nearly three decades until April 2005 when it pulled out its troops under international and regional pressure, two months after the assassination of Rafik Hariri.

The two countries established diplomatic ties for the first time in 2008, with Syria opening an embassy in Beirut, while Lebanon opened its mission in Damascus in March 2009.(Naharnet-AFP)