PARIS - France welcomed Wednesday the establishment of diplomatic ties between Lebanon and Syria and said it would help stabilise the Middle East. The Syrian and Lebanese foreign ministers announced the ground-breaking move in Damascus earlier, turning a page in relations between Beirut and its
one-time powerbroker. "This is an important step for the stabilisation of the region," French foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said in Paris.

"We now expect ambassadors to be named and the opening of two embassies before the end of the year," he added. "We also encourage the parties to achieve progress on all bilateral issues, including the demarcation and control of the border, as well as prisoner return and accounting for the missing." Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Lebanese counterpart Michel Sleiman announced in August their intention to establish ties following a meeting hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in 2005 under a wave of pressure following the assassination in a Beirut bomb blast of former billionaire premier Rafiq Hariri. Damascus has consistently denied charges of involvement in the murder.