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French President Nicholas Sarkozy will visit Syria.

The visit, announced Wednesday and scheduled for Sept. 3, follows on the heels of several signs of warming ties between the two countries.

Last month, Syria’s president was invited to Paris to participate in a conference of the Union for the Mediterranean, bringing Syria out of isolation in Europe. On Monday, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner visited Damascus and announced that the two countries would exchange ambassadors again.

France recalled its ambassador to Damascus to protest suspected Syrian involvement in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri. Syria denied involvement in the killing.

Syria recently announced it would establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon, in a sign of Syrian recognition of Lebanese independence.

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