Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani held a series of meetings today, Thursday, July 2, with senior Lebanese officials in Beirut to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and several political, security, and economic files.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
According to the ministry, the meeting discussed ways to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect and good neighborliness, enhance mechanisms for economic cooperation, and review the latest regional and international developments of mutual interest.
According to the Lebanese National News Agency, al-Shaibani arrived at the Parliament Speaker’s headquarters in Ain al-Tineh, Beirut, where he met Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Indirect Contact
Political analyst and international relations expert Mahmoud Alloush believes the visit carries political importance that goes beyond protocol.
Al-Shaibani is expected to present Damascus’ view on ways to support stability in Lebanon, while also discussing several bilateral and regional files with Lebanese officials.
Alloush told Enab Baladi that al-Shaibani’s meeting with Berri represents the first contact between Syria’s new administration and a prominent Shiite political leader in Lebanon.
He considered it, indirectly, the first channel of communication with Hezbollah, given Berri’s role as a political link with the party at the current stage.
The visit comes as Syrian-Lebanese relations are witnessing growing diplomatic activity, amid expectations that the talks will address border control, security and economic cooperation, the return of Syrian refugees, and several regional issues of common concern.
It also comes days after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Damascus seeks to build “economic, not military, lines” with Lebanon, and that its role is limited to supporting Lebanese state institutions and strengthening stability, away from any direct military intervention, giving the visit additional political dimensions.
The visit also coincides with regional discussions that followed remarks by US President Donald Trump regarding a possible role for Syria in dealing with the Hezbollah issue.
Damascus, meanwhile, affirmed that its approach to relations with Lebanon is based on political and economic cooperation, not on engaging in any military role inside Lebanese territory.
This is al-Shaibani’s second visit to Lebanon since taking office. He had previously visited Beirut on October 10.
During that visit, he discussed several bilateral files with Lebanese officials, most notably the activation of relations between the two countries, agreements signed between Damascus and Beirut, demarcation of land and maritime borders, the gas pipeline, and the file of Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons.
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced at the time that progress had been made in the file of Syrian detainees in Rumieh Prison, after meetings al-Shaibani held with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi.
Mending Relations
According to Agence France-Presse, the visit comes as Damascus affirms that it is not seeking military intervention in Lebanon, which is witnessing tensions linked to the war between Israel and Hezbollah, after repeated remarks by US President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of Syria playing a role in this file.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam had visited the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he met President Ahmed al-Sharaa and discussed files related to security, transportation, and energy.
According to AFP, Beirut and Damascus are working to mend their relations after years of tension, against the backdrop of a long legacy of Syrian tutelage over Lebanese affairs during the rule of the Assad family, a period marked by repeated accusations of interference in Lebanese political life and in assassination files targeting opposition figures.
Lebanon and Syria share a border of about 330 kilometers, where smuggling operations are repeatedly active on both sides.
Lebanon’s overcrowded prisons also hold about 2,000 Syrians arrested on multiple charges, including “terrorism” and belonging to armed organizations and factions, along with others accused of confrontations with the Lebanese army during the years of the conflict in Syria and Hezbollah’s intervention alongside the forces of former President Bashar al-Assad.
Lebanese authorities had handed over more than 250 convicted Syrians to their country in two batches, under an agreement signed between the two sides in February, as part of attempts to address the prisoner file, considered one of the most prominent unresolved issues between the two countries.
During the Assad era, Syria was part of what was known as the Iran-led “Axis of Resistance.”
It formed a link between Tehran and Hezbollah in Lebanon, before the new authorities that ousted Assad in late 2024 adopted a more cautious position toward Iranian influence and the party. Hezbollah, for its part, says its activity inside Syria has declined in the new phase, according to AFP.
Sharaa: We Want Economic, Not Military, Lines
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had clarified Damascus’ position on intervention in the Lebanese file after successive remarks by US President Donald Trump urging Sharaa to confront Hezbollah.
The Syrian president gave a special interview to al-Mashhad channel, presented by Lebanese media figure Tony Khalifeh, which aired Sunday, June 21. The interview addressed a range of regional and political files, foremost among them developments in Lebanon and Syrian Lebanese relations amid the changes taking place in the region, within an accelerating political and regional context.
During the interview, Sharaa discussed Damascus’ vision for the Lebanese crisis and the role Syria could play in supporting stability and finding political solutions to the crisis.
The interview also covered prospects for cooperation between Syria and Lebanon, the shift toward strengthening economic ties and integration between the two countries, and the Syrian administration’s positions on ongoing regional transformations and their repercussions for the region amid growing challenges.
Sharaa said the region is currently passing through a sensitive phase, considering that the change Syria witnessed created a positive opportunity from which most countries in the region benefited.
He added that some Lebanese parties are still thinking according to previous realities, despite Lebanon being exposed to a major war, pointing to a major crisis and a blockage in political solutions.
Sharaa explained that Syria presented its vision for a solution during its talks with the United States, based on stopping the war and addressing its negative effects on Lebanon and Syria, alongside searching for economic, political, and social solutions. He stressed that stopping what is happening in Lebanon requires “creative,” not traditional, solutions.
Remarks by US President Donald Trump about the possibility of Damascus playing a role in the war against Lebanon’s Hezbollah raised several questions about the nature of this role, how feasible it would be, and the consequences of such a step for Syria, Lebanon, and the region as a whole.
But the Syrian president affirmed his belief in dialogue, considering that closing it means heading toward war.
He said Syria wants to resolve the Hezbollah problem and for Lebanon to remain viable, adding that Damascus is ready to sit with everyone.
He also believes the time has come for the region to end the phase of wars and conflicts and move toward development and reconstruction, pointing to efforts to search for a safe solution for Lebanon and open new channels in the coming period.
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