Beirut and Damascus open a new chapter in their relations

(Keystone-ATS) This first visit by a Lebanese head of government since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011 comes as the two neighboring countries seek to improve their relations since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s power on December 8.

“There will be lasting strategic relations, with great common interests,” Chareh said at a joint press conference. He estimated that the election of Joseph Aoun as president of Lebanon would lead to a “stable situation” in the Land of the Cedar.

Mr. Aoun’s election on Thursday ended a more than two-year vacancy in the Lebanese presidency, blamed by his detractors on the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement, which lost a strategic ally with the fall of Mr. Assad.

A “chance” to give

Mr. Chareh called for forgetting “the spirit of past relations” between the two countries and “giving a chance” to the two peoples to establish “positive relations (…) based on respect and the sovereignty of the two States” . “We will try to resolve all issues through consultation and dialogue,” he said.

Mr. Mikati stressed that the new relations between the two countries must be based on “mutual respect, equality and national sovereignty”. According to him, “Syria is Lebanon’s natural gateway to the Arab world, and as long as it is well, Lebanon will be well.”

Syria was for three decades a dominant political and military force in Lebanon, where it intervened during the 1975-1990 civil war and where numerous assassinations of political figures are attributed to it. It withdrew its troops in 2005 under local and international pressure, after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.

Tensions between the two countries also arose from the military support provided by Hezbollah to Bashar al-Assad, Tehran’s ally, during the civil war in Syria which left more than 500,000 dead.

Borders and refugees

Faced with recent developments in the two countries, officials hope to open a new chapter in their relations and resolve outstanding issues. Mr. Mikati stressed that the return of Syrian refugees was “urgent for both countries”, indicating that he had perceived in Mr. Chareh a desire to resolve this issue.

Lebanon has been particularly affected by the gradual influx of two million Syrian refugees fleeing the fighting. The country’s economic collapse at the end of 2019 worsened an already fragile situation.

Mr. Mikati declared that the delimitation of land and maritime borders was a “priority” and announced a project for a joint commission on this issue, alongside efforts to “fight against border smuggling”.

He stressed the need to strengthen mutual security measures to protect the two countries. Mr. Chareh, however, clarified that his government’s priority was the internal situation and maintaining order.

Syria, which shares a 330-kilometer border with Lebanon, repeatedly refused to demarcate its borders with its neighbor during the Assad years, making them an easily accessible area for smugglers. On January 3, the transitional Syrian authorities imposed new entry restrictions for Lebanese people.

Foreign delegations

Since the fall of Mr. Assad, foreign diplomatic delegations have followed one another in Damascus, the latest being that of the special envoy of the Sultanate of Oman, Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Hinai. Oman, where Bashar al-Assad visited in February 2023, was the only Gulf country to have maintained diplomatic relations with Syria during the war.