MICHAEL Suleiman, the Lebanese president, accepted Ali Abdel Karim Ali as Damascus's representative on Tuesday, Lebanese official media said. The move comes after last week's decision by Beirut to appoint an ambassador and open its embassy in the Syrian capital, and is the final formal step in normalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Ties have been strained since the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, in 2005. Many in Lebanon blamed Syria for the killing but Syria has denied involvement.