Berri: full independence within grasp
Lebanon's Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri has announced the establishment of a Lebanese Embassy in Damascus, and a Syrian Embassy in Beirut.It would be the final step in establishing full bilateral relations, and would signal that Syria has come to accept Lebanon's full independence.In a similar vein Berri announced that the two countries are to set up a joint negotiating committee, ready for any future peace negotiations with Israel "should the Jewish state have mercy on us". Previously Syria had negotiated on Lebanon's behalf. It is generally accepted that joint negotaitions will bring about better results than if Israel is able to play the two countries off against each other.