UPDATE - Syrian foreign minister sees chance to turn Syria-Lebanon ties into political, economic partnership

UPDATES WITH STATEMENTS, CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE, REVISES DECK

By Efe Ozkan and Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Friday affirmed there is a historic opportunity to transform his country’s relationship with Lebanon from a tense security-based one into a political and economic partnership, SANA news agency reported.

Shaibani arrived in the capital Beirut earlier, marking the first visit to Lebanon by a Cabinet minister in Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's government.

At a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Youssef Raji, the Syrian minister said: “There is a historic opportunity to turn the relationship between Syria and Lebanon from a tense security relationship in the past into a political and economic partnership that benefits both the Syrian and Lebanese peoples.”

He emphasized Syria's determination to overcome all obstacles of the past with Lebanon and to strengthen ties based on mutual respect and shared interests that serve both nations.

“This visit comes under the direction of President Ahmad al-Sharaa to affirm the depth of relations between the two countries and to embody the new Syria’s orientation based on mutual respect,” Shaibani added.

He said Syria “is entering a stage of recovery and reconstruction, one of the main foundations of which is building political relations on the principles of reciprocal cooperation, respect for the sovereignty of neighboring states, and non-interference in their internal affairs.”

The minister also thanked Lebanon for hosting Syrian refugees during the previous years despite its own economic hardships.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Raji said a “new page has been opened between Lebanon and Syria, and we hope it will be an auspicious beginning.”

He confirmed “a commitment from both the Syrian and Lebanese sides to respect the Lebanese state and to refrain from interfering in its affairs--a positive path.”

“I inform the Lebanese people that work of the Syrian Lebanese Higher Council has been suspended and that it will soon be formally abolished,” he added.

He stressed that “relations between the Lebanese and Syrian states are now direct.”

- Official diplomatic channels

Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry had been notified on Friday morning, through the Syrian Embassy in Beirut, of the decision to suspend the work of the Syrian Lebanese Higher Council and to restrict all communications between the two countries to official diplomatic channels, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The Higher Council had been established on May 22, 1991 under the Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination signed by the late presidents Hafez al-Assad and Elias Hrawi.

It served as the official framework regulating relations between the two states.

However, after the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in 2005, the council’s role sharply declined and became largely symbolic and administrative.

In recent months, diplomatic coordination between Beirut and Damascus has intensified on several key issues — most notably the files of missing persons, land-border demarcation, and efforts to boost economic cooperation.

The Lebanese-Syrian border had witnessed a serious escalation in March 2025, when armed men crossed into Syrian territory and abducted three soldiers before executing them.

After days of clashes and exchanges of fire between Syrian forces and Lebanese gunmen, the defense ministers of both countries — Murhaf Abu Qasra of Syria and Michel Mansi of Lebanon — announced an agreement to ceasefire and prevent further border tensions following a phone call on March 17.

Shaibani arrived in Beirut accompanied by a delegation to meet Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Foreign Minister Raji.

​​​​​​​In April, Salam met Sharaa in Damascus, in the first visit by a Lebanese official since Sharaa took office, and discussed several issues of mutual concern, most notably the issue of Syrian detainees in Lebanon.