UN intervention in Lebanon-Syria relations harmful

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The UN Security Council's call for Syria to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon was expected to stiffen Damascus' resolve against formal links to its tiny neighbor, a move it has steadfastly rejected for six decades. "I'm afraid it will complicate matters further," George Jabbour, a Syrian legislator, said of the UN resolution. "The Security Council's intervention in such a way was a disappointment to all those who would like to see friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries." Sateh Noureddine, managing editor of the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir, which has taken a pro-Syrian line, said the UN resolution's lack of implementation mechanism made it a piece of "propaganda with no political value that could provoke the Syrians and undermine resumption of relations."