Beirut, December 06: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Friday he will be visiting long-time foe Syria after parliament grants his government a vote of confidence, but gave no date for the trip.
“I will be going on a tour after the vote of confidence, and Syria will be part of that tour,” Hariri told reporters in Beirut ahead of Thursday’s vote in parliament.
Hariri has had tense ties with Syria ever since his father and former premier, Rafiq Hariri, was killed in a massive Beirut bombing in February 2005.
A UN inquiry in June said it had evidence that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services were linked to the killing. Damascus has consistently denied any involvement.
Earlier this week Hariri’s 30-member government adopted a policy statement despite reservations by his Christian allies on a clause that deals with the weapons of the Syria- and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The government was formed five months after Hariri’s US- and Western-backed coalition defeated a Hezbollah-led alliance in a legislative vote.
Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri sent Hariri a telegram of congratulations earlier this month.
—Agencies