Syria and Lebanon agreed today to resume work towards formally demarcating their borders but Damascus said the boundaries of the disputed Shebaa Farms would not be drawn until Israel withdrew from them.
Demarcation of the borders between Syria and Lebanon would be a major step towards meeting international demands on Damascus to formalise ties with its smaller neighbour.
Lebanese president Michel Suleiman and his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad also agreed at a two-day summit to establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level, a move that underlined a thaw in ties between the two neighbours.
Opening diplomatic ties was another step which countries including France and the United States had demanded of Syria, which dominated its neighbour until 2005 when the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri forced it to withdraw troops from Lebanon.
"The two presidents agreed on ... the resumption of the work of the joint committee to define and draw the Syrian-Lebanese borders," said a joint statement read at the end of the summit.
Asked whether that would include the Shebaa Farms, Syrian foreign minister Walid al-Moualem said: "The definition of the Shebaa Farms cannot happen under occupation." Lebanese group Hizbollah, which is backed by Syria and Iran, cites the occupation of the Shebaa Farms as one reason for keeping its arsenal.
Israel considers Shebaa Farms part of the Golan Heights, which it occupied in 1967. Syria and Lebanon say the land is part of south Lebanon, from which Israel withdrew in 2000.
Officials did not say how long the process would take. Lebanese foreign minister Fawzi Salloukh, speaking alongside Moualem, pointed out that the border committee had been established in the 1940s.
Demarcating borders has also been a demand of Lebanese leaders who have sought to curb Syrian influence in the country since the Hariri killing - which they blame on Damascus. Syria has denied involvement.
The presidents also pledged to step up the efforts of a Lebanese-Syrian committee tasked with determining the fate of Lebanese who went missing in the 1975-90 civil war and whose relatives say were taken to Syria.