Beirut - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad issued Tuesday a resolution to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon and open a Syrian embassy in Lebanon, a Lebanese government source said.

The source said Lebanon's Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh was due to visit Damascus on Wednesday to discuss "steps to be taken" in this regard between the two neigbouring countries.

Al-Assad did not specify an exact date for the embassy's opening in Beirut, Al-Arabia television channel reported.

Syria, during a visit by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman last month, said it was ready to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon for the first time since independence from France more than 60 years ago.

Following the 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former premier Rafik Hariri, Damascus was forced under US-led international pressure to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending nearly three decades of control of Lebanon.

Besides blaming Syria for Hariri's death, anti-Syrian factions in Lebanon have also blamed Damascus for a series of assassinations targeting lawmakers and politicians opposed to Syria since 2005. Syria has denied involvement in any of these killings, including that of Hariri.

Syria and Lebanon have not had full-fledged embassies in each other's capitals since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945. (dpa)