DAMASCUS, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Syria and Lebanon agreed on Wednesday to establish diplomatic relations at ambassadorial level, said a declaration following the summit of Syrian President Basharal-Assad and his visiting Lebanese counterpart Michel Suleiman.

　　The agreement was achieved "in the framework of strengthening fraternal relations between the two countries and as a result of the talks held by Presidents Bashar al-Assad and Michel Suleiman on Aug. 13, 2008," said the declaration, quoted by the official SANA news agency.

　　"The two presidents have agreed upon the establishment of diplomatic relations at the level of ambassadors in line with the United Nations Charter and international law," it added.

　　The two presidents have instructed their foreign ministers to take the necessary steps, starting from Wednesday, in this regard in accordance with legislative and legal assets in the two countries, noted the statement.

　　Last month, Assad and Suleiman announced in Paris after a meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy that they decided to establish diplomatic ties and open embassies in each other's territory.

　　Syria and Lebanon have not established diplomatic relations since their independence from the French colonial rule in the 1940s.

　　During their talks, the two leaders also discussed the demarcation of borders between Lebanon and Syria and missing persons from both countries, said SANA, adding that the atmosphere of the talks were "positive and very constructive."

　　Assad also condemned during the meeting the deadly explosion in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli earlier as an "criminal act."

　　The two presidents would continue talks on Thursday, SANA added.

　　Suleiman arrived in Damascus earlier on Wednesday for a groundbreaking two-day visit to Syria.

　　This is Suleiman's first visit to Syria after he took the presidency and also the first by a Lebanese president to Damascus since his predecessor, the then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud's visit in March 2005.

　　Just hours before Suleiman's arrival, a deadly explosion raged in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli, killing 17 people, including 10 army soldiers, and injuring some 40 others.

　　Bilateral ties between the two countries have been chilled since the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Feb. 2005, which many blamed Damascus for being behind, but Syria denied any role.

　　Syria, a former power-broker in Lebanon, was forced to withdraw its forces from its smaller neighbor shortly after the killing, ending its three-decade military presence there.

　　Damascus was accused of interfering in the Lebanese affairs and responsible for a series of assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians in Lebanon afterwards, which Syria also denied.

　　Syria supports the Lebanese opposition in the parliament, led by the Shiite Hezbollah movement, which has been competing for power with the majority backed by the west.

　　The tension of relations between Syria and Lebanon abated after rival Lebanese parties secured an agreement in Doha in May to elect Michel Suleiman as president and establish a new government. Damascus was deemed to have played a constructive role in reaching the agreement.