Lebanon has accepted Syria's first ever ambassador to Beirut.

Michel Suleiman, the Lebanese president, accepted Ali Abdel Karim Ali as Damascus's representative on Tuesday, Lebanese official media said.

The move comes after last week's decision by Beirut to appoint an ambassador and open its embassy in the Syrian capital, and is the final formal step in normalising diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Ties have been strained since the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, in 2005. Many in Lebanon blamed Syria for the killing but Syria has denied involvement.

Syria established diplomatic ties with Lebanon last year, after facing international pressure to formally recognise the smaller neighbour from where it pulled out thousands of troops and intelligence agents following fallout from al-Hariri's death.

A UN tribunal convened this month as part of its probe into the former premier's death.