Annan presses Syria, Lebanon to agree on ties

United Nations, Sep 13: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan pressed the leaders of Syria and Lebanon today to quickly launch negotiations to establish diplomatic ties between the two West Asian neighbours.

Annan told the UN Security Council he expected Damascus and Beirut to agree to ''the early initiation'' of efforts to establish full diplomatic relations after both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told him they were ready to meet with each other ''at any time'' to start the process.

Reuters