A the difference of Riyadh, Amman or Baghdad, Beirut did not take the prompt initiative to send of official delegation in Syria since the advent of the new strongman of Damascus, Ahmed Al-Charaa, from the ranks of the powerful Islamist rebels of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham who overthrew the regime of Bashar Al-Assad on December 8.
Lebanon has some excuses. The political upheaval in Syria occurred when he had other priorities: after two months of war, a fragile truce between Hezbollah and Israel had just entered into force on November 27, 2024, the day which happens to mark the start of the offensive which led to the fall of the Syrian regime. An institutional vacuum prevailed, with a government in charge of current affairs since spring 2022, and the absence of a president until the election, Thursday, January 9, of the head of the army, Joseph Aoun.
For its contacts with its Syrian neighbor, Beirut had, until this date, been content with telephone exchanges. Syria had to adopt restrictions on the entry of Lebanese into its territory for a visit to Damascus by outgoing Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati to be organized on Saturday January 11.
But other reasons explain Lebanese reluctance. First, a very contrasting perception of events in the country: the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad was welcomed with joy by some of the Lebanese, and with fear by others. Those who welcome it see in this fall a liberation of the Syrians and revenge on the tutelage that Syria imposed on Lebanon. The Syrian army occupied the country for twenty-nine years (1976-2005).
The Al-Assad regime was the arbiter of the Lebanese post-war, in the 1990s and early 2000s. The anxious, for their part, expressed their concern about the arrival of Islamists in power and to a potential new wave of destabilization of Syria. Everyone knows that the turnaround will have consequences on the Land of the Cedars: the destinies of the two neighbors are closely linked by history, economic exchanges, family proximity and multi-community populations.
You have 63.3% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
