DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's president issued a decree establishing diplomatic relations with Lebanon, and a foreign ministry official said the country will have an embassy in Beirut by year end.

The U.S. and Lebanese anti-Syrian politicians have long demanded Syria recognize Lebanon's sovereignty by establishing official relations. The two countries have not had formal diplomatic ties since they gained independence from France in the 1940s.

Lebanon and Syria agreed in August to establish ties and demarcate their contentious border. That agreement, which came during an official visit by the Lebanese president to Damascus, and today's formal decree reflect Syria's efforts to break with past isolationist policies and resolve tensions.

Relations between the two Arab nations have been lopsided in Syria's favor since the 1970s, when Syria sent its army into Lebanon and retained control for nearly 30 years.

Syrian President Bashar Assad's decree, carried by the official Syrian news agency SANA, said that a "diplomatic mission for the Syrian Arab Republic at the embassy level will be established in the Lebanese capital." It did not provide details or say when the embassy would open.