Syria’s foreign minister visits Lebanon as both countries try to rebuild ties after Assad’s ouster

SyriaForeign Minister arrived lebanonObservers say Friday’s visit to the capital could mark a major breakthrough in relations between the two neighbors that have been tense for decades.

Foreign Minister Assad al-Shibani held talks with his Lebanese counterpart and is expected to meet President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. It was the first high-profile Syrian visit to Lebanon since rebel groups ousted the government of President Bashar Assad in early December 2024.

Lebanon and Syria are working to rebuild strained ties, including by focusing on the situation of approximately 2,000 Syrian citizens held in Lebanese prisons, border security, locating Lebanese citizens missing for years in Syria, and facilitating the return of Syrian refugees.

The current Syrian leadership is angry at Lebanon being supported by Iran Hezbollah The group is taking part in Syria’s civil war, fighting alongside Assad’s forces, while many Lebanese still resent Syria’s 29-year dominance over its smaller neighbour, where it had a military presence for three decades until 2005.

After their meeting, al-Shibani and Lebanese Foreign Minister Joe Rajaji announced at a press conference that the Lebanese-Syrian High Council had been suspended and all deals would be restricted to official diplomatic channels.

This council, created in 1991, was a symbol of Syria’s influence over Lebanon. Its role declined following Syria’s withdrawal in 2005, the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and the opening of the Syrian embassy in 2008. bearWhich marked the first official recognition of Lebanon as an autonomous state by Syria after gaining independence from France in 1943. In recent years, the Council was largely inactive, with only limited contact between officials.

In early September, a Syrian delegation, including two former cabinet ministers and the head of Syria’s National Missing Persons Commission, visited Beirut. Lebanon and Syria also agreed to establish two committees to resolve major issues outstanding at that time.

These efforts are part of a broader regional shift following the ouster of Assad and Hezbollah’s significant losses during the recent war with Israel.

Al-Shibani reiterated Syria’s “respect for Lebanon’s sovereignty,” adding that Damascus “wants to overcome previous obstacles and strengthen bilateral relations.”

“My visit to Beirut is to reaffirm the depth of Syrian-Lebanese relations,” he said.

Many Syrians captured in Lebanon remain in jail without trial – around 800 are detained for security-related reasons, including involvement in attacks and shootings.

Al-Shibani’s delegation included Syria’s Justice Minister, Mazhar al-Louis al-Wais; the head of Syrian intelligence, Hussein al-Salama; and the assistant interior minister, Maj. Gen. Abdel Kader Tahan, according to the Lebanese state-run national news agency.

Lebanon, meanwhile, hosts an estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled the uprising-turned-civil war that erupted more than 14 years ago. Since the fall of Assad in December, some 850,000 refugees have returned to Syria from neighboring countries as of September, with the number expected to rise, according to Kelly T. Clements, UNHCR’s Deputy High Commissioner. Lebanese authorities gave illegal Syrians permission to leave by the end of August.

Syria’s conflict, which began in March 2011, has killed nearly 500,000 people and displaced half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million. More than 5 million Syrians have fled the country as refugees, most of them to neighboring countries, including Lebanon, which has the highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

Although many Syrians initially hoped for stability after Assad was ousted from power, sectarian killings against members of Assad’s Alawite minority sect in Syria’s coastal region in March and the Druze minority in the southern province of Sweda in July left hundreds dead and revived security concerns.

Meanwhile, the Lebanon-Syria border has long been a hotbed of clashes, with periodic shootings and infiltration attempts, particularly in the northeastern Bekaa Valley. In March 2025, the two countries signed an agreement to demarcate the border and enhance security coordination with the aim of preventing disputes and curbing smuggling and other illegal activities.

Hezbollah has been extensively involved in cross-border smuggling, primarily to move weapons and military supplies, which has led to border tensions and violent confrontations. Syrian security forces have repeatedly stopped Hezbollah-linked trucks carrying weapons to Lebanon.

Since the fall of Assad, two Lebanese prime ministers have visited Syria. Aoun and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa also spoke on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Egypt in March.