Syria, Lebanon To Negotiate Shared Borders

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria and Lebanon have agreed to negotiate the demarcation of their border — a longtime Lebanese demand — as part of a new push to normalize relations.

President Suleiman Lebanon and President Assad of Syria released a joint statement yesterday saying a committee would be formed to negotiate agreement on the border. The presidents had agreed Wednesday to establish full diplomatic ties.

The border between Lebanon and Syria has been ill-defined since the two countries became independent from French rule in 1943.

Mr. Suleiman is visiting Damascus in the first trip to Syria by a Lebanese head of state since 2005, when Syria ended three decades of stationing troops on the territory of its smaller neighbor.