Berlin  - German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble signed a repatriation agreement with his Syrian counterpart Bassam Abdelmajid in Berlin Monday.

The agreement provided a basis for sending back not only Syrian nationals required to leave Germany, but also nationals of other countries and stateless persons who had the right to be in Syria, Schaeuble said.

The new agreement was in line with modern European practice and would make a significant contribution to combating illegal migration from the Middle East, he said.

A spokeswoman for the German Interior Ministry said that some 7,000 of the 28,350 Syrian nationals currently in Germany were obliged to leave the country.

Abdelmajid's visit to Berlin was unexpectedly announced last week. The Syrian minister did not speak to the press and had no public engagements.

In another unexpected development marking a thaw in relations between the two countries that have long been cool, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Paris at the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean on Sunday.

At the meeting of 43 heads of state and government from the European Union and countries of the Mediterranean littoral, Assad agreed to establish formal diplomatic links with Lebanon for the first time.

Germany has long demanded that Syria should recognize Lebanon's sovereignty and integrity and should cease interfering in domestic Lebanese politics.

Merkel's spokesman, Thomas Steg, said Monday the chancellor hoped that "deeds would soon follow words" and that formal ties between the two Middle Eastern neighbours would soon be established.

He also called for an end to weapons smuggling across the border to the Syrian-backed Hezbollah movement. (dpa)