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Lebanese PM visits Syria to mend ties, address key bilateral issues

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Apr 2025 18:36

This marks the first visit to Damascus by a high-ranking Lebanese official since the formation of Lebanon’s new government in February.

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This handout picture released by the Syrian Presidency's Telegram page shows Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa (R) shaking hands with Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during their meeting in Damascus on April 14, 2025 (AFP)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held talks on Monday with Syria’s interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, focusing on bilateral issues between the two countries — most notably the case of Lebanese nationals who disappeared in Syrian prisons during the presidency of Bashar al-Assad, as well as border security, which has seen rising tensions following the political transition in Damascus, according to Lebanese media sources.

This marks the first visit to Damascus by a high-ranking Lebanese official since the formation of Lebanon’s new government in February, two months after al-Sharaa led an offensive that ousted long-time Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

The Lebanese delegation, led by Prime Minister Salam, included Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji, Defense Minister Michel Menassa, and Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar.

Salam's visit 'key to correcting the course of ties between Lebanon, Syria

This visit is "key to correcting the course of ties between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect," a Lebanese official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the press.

The official indicated that Monday’s discussions were expected to focus on measures to secure and demarcate the two countries’ 330-kilometre (205-mile) border and to curb cross-border smuggling.

Last month, during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers signed an agreement aimed at addressing security and military threats along the border, following deadly clashes that left 10 people dead.

Beirut is also expected to request Syrian cooperation in establishing "a commission of inquiry into a large number of assassinations in Lebanon over which the former regime is accused," the official said, adding that Salam is also set to raise the issue of the return of Syrian refugees.

Lebanese authorities estimate that the country, already mired in economic crisis, hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled the war since 2011, while the UN refugee agency has registered approximately 750,000 of them.

On Sunday, Salam said he would also bring up the issue of Lebanese nationals who were detained and subsequently disappeared in Syrian prisons under the previous regime.

In January, former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati became the first Lebanese head of government to visit Damascus since the outbreak of the war in Syria.

In a statement last December, al-Sharaa pledged that Syria would refrain from interfering negatively in Lebanese affairs and affirmed his country’s respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty.