BEIRUT - Lebanese President Michel Sleiman on Wednesday urged the international community to open up to Syria because of its key role in the region.

"The international community must open up to Syria, following the example set by France, because Syria plays a fundamental role at the regional level," Sleiman said in a statement.

He made his remarks at a meeting with an American delegation led by Deputy Assistant to the Undersecretary of State for Near East Affairs David Hale.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to visit Damascus on September 3 and 4 in the wake of the announcement by Syria and Lebanon that they will establish diplomatic relations for the first time.

Paris froze high-level contacts with Damascus after the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in February 2005.

"Developments in bilateral Lebanese-Syrian relations after the presidential summit in Damascus were the focus of talks between Sleiman and the US delegation," the statement said.

Bilateral cooperation in equipping and strengthening Lebanon's security forces was also discussed, it added.

Sleiman also raised recent Israeli threats against Lebanon, including one to attack civilian infrastructure should the Shiite movement Hezbollah lead the government.

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah responded by threatening to destroy Israel in the event of another war.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating 34-day conflict in the summer of 2006 which killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

It was sparked when Hezbollah militants seized two Israeli soldiers in a deadly cross-border raid.