Syria’s foreign ministry on Thursday denied reports that officials had held contacts with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, saying Damascus communicates only with Lebanon’s legitimate state authorities.
– “There is no truth to reports of contacts with Hezbollah,” the ministry said.
– The ministry said Syria respected Lebanon’s sovereignty and called for the Lebanese state to exercise full authority over the country.
– The comments came after Reuters reported earlier on Thursday that Syrian government officials and representatives of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia had secretly held face-to-face talks in Turkey last month in an effort to ease tensions between the two sides.
– Reuters, citing six sources briefed on the discussions, said the meeting was the first known direct engagement between Syria’s new authorities and Hezbollah since the ouster of longtime Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The sources included two Syrian officials, a US official and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah.
– According to the report, Hezbollah representatives met Syrian intelligence and foreign ministry officials in Turkey at the invitation of Turkish security and intelligence agencies. The discussions focused on security concerns and reducing tensions between the two sides, but no final agreement was reached.
– Relations between Damascus and Hezbollah have undergone a dramatic shift since al-Assad’s fall. The Lebanese militia was one of al-Assad’s most important allies during Syria’s civil war, deploying thousands of fighters to help his forces battle armed opposition groups.
– Since al-Assad’s ouster, however, tensions have risen between Hezbollah and Syria’s new government under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Damascus has accused the militia of involvement in weapons smuggling and other activities on Syrian territory.
– Earlier this week, Syrian authorities said they had captured a Hezbollah-linked cell that was preparing rocket attacks in southern Syria. Hezbollah denied the accusation, saying it had no presence in Syria and was not involved in security or military activity there.
– The dispute also comes as the Lebanese government faces pressure to consolidate state authority and establish a state monopoly over weapons, a process that directly affects Hezbollah.