Assad Congratulates Suleiman on Independence Day, Wishes the Best for Lebanon
Syrian President Bashar Assad congratulated on Wednesday President Michel Suleiman on the occasion of Lebanon's Independence Day.
The Syrian national news agency SANA reported that Assad's letter contained a felicitation from the Syrian people to “their brothers in Lebanon”.
Assad's letter is the first ice-breaking step between the two presidents as their relationship has witnessed some tension since Suleiman asked the Syrian president for an explanation concerning ex-Minister Michel Semaha's case.
Samaha was arrested on August 9 on charges of smuggling explosives into Lebanon through the border with Syria. Reports have revealed that these operations were conducted in cooperation with the president of the Syrian National Security Office Ali Mamlouk and with the awareness of Assad and his advisor Buthaina Shaaban.
Following the arrest and the investigations with Samaha, President Suleiman asked Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour to submit a complaint memo to Syrian authorities for repeatedly breaching the Lebanese border.
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