Lebanon

The visit by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah to Syria in early October signalled a clear improvement in relations between the two Middle Eastern rivals but had not, at the time of writing, led to the formation of a Lebanese government. The visit should be viewed within the wider repositioning of Syria's relations with the US - if this process starts to accelerate, then so too should there be improvements in Lebanon's domestic political scene. However, there are many complicating factors, and even when a government is formed, it will find it difficult to take strong policy decisions if these run

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