DAMASCUS - Lebanese President Michel Sleiman made a landmark visit to Damascus on Wednesday for talks with Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad aimed at establishing diplomatic relations for the first time.

Hours before Sleiman flew in, a bomb exploded in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, killing at least 14 people, nine of them soldiers, and wounding 40 others.

Sleiman is the first Lebanese president to visit Damascus since Syria withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April 2005 ending almost three decades of military domination of its "sister" nation.

The pullout came two months after the assassination in a massive Beirut bomb blast of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, for which Damascus has denied any responsibility despite accusations by Lebanese anti-Syrian groups.

Sleiman, a former army chief elected by parliament in May, was given a red-carpet welcome by Assad at the People's Palace overlooking Damascus ahead of a first round of talks.

"(Assad) has instructed all concerned Syrian officials that he wants this visit to be successful and fruitful," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said in comments published in Lebanon's As-Safir newspaper.

"The visit is a starting point... for future relations. We hope it will yield good relations in the interests" of the Lebanese and Syrian people.

Syria and Lebanon have not had diplomatic ties since independence from French colonial power about 60 years ago but Assad and Sleiman agreed to establish relations during talks last month in Paris.

Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri, a stalwart of the Syrian-backed opposition in Beirut, said however the Tripoli bombing was timed "to prevent the improvement of Lebanese-Syrian relations."

Syria's foreign ministry condemned the attack as a "criminal act" and expressed support for Lebanon "in the face of all those who are manipulating its security and stability."

Sleiman's visit aims to redefine ties between Beirut and Damascus which have been on the decline since the Hariri murder.

The agenda features prickly issues such as a border demarcation, a review of longstanding accords, Lebanese detainees in Syria and the presence of radical pro-Syrian Palestinian groups in Lebanon, as well as the opening of embassies.

Sleiman was elected in May as part of an agreement struck in Doha between the pro- and anti-Syrian camps in Lebanon after an 18-month political crisis which degenerated into deadly factional violence.

The deal led to the formation of a national unity government, a development which would have been impossible without Syrian consent.

Sleiman's visit comes a day after Beirut's Western-backed government won a vote of confidence in parliament, after stormy debates on the thorny issue of weapons held by the Syria- and Iran-backed Hezbollah Shiite militant group.

The vote allows the 30-member cabinet formed a month ago by Prime Minister Fuad Siniora to finally start work.

"Syria wants a stable, united and Arab Lebanon which does not serve as a trampoline for hostile activities," Elias Murad, editor-in-chief of the ruling Baath party newspaper, told AFP.

Syria's official Tishrin newspaper hailed the summit and said it expected "past mistakes to be overcome... by establishing diplomatic relations" which it said must be based on "respect, friendship and coordination."

Officials in Damascus insist Syria has not interfered in Lebanon since its troop withdrawal and has worked to reunify ranks in Beirut, pointing to the Doha power-sharing accord.

But Beirut's An-Nahar, reflecting the suspicions of Lebanon's anti-Syrian parliamentary majority, has voiced doubts over how Damascus will "manage the relations." -AFP