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Beirut visit and Hezbollah openness
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaybani visited Beirut on Thursday and met President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri as part of an effort to reshape Beirut–Damascus relations through institutional cooperation and respect for sovereignty.
During a press conference after his meeting with Berri, al-Shaybani announced openness to meeting Hezbollah "if the interest requires," while also denying that this file was discussed in their talks.
Al-Shaybani also stressed that Syria has "no intention of intervening militarily in Lebanon," and he conveyed an official invitation from his Syrian counterpart to visit Damascus, according to a statement from the Lebanese presidency.
The visit was accompanied by a reported agreement to establish the Lebanese–Syrian Supreme Joint Committee, with Salam saying issues including electricity interconnection, transport, exchange of goods, and facilitation of cross-border movement along the roughly 300-kilometer border were discussed.
The same reporting framed the stance as a shift toward dialogue over confrontation, with President Joseph Aoun saying President Ahmad al-Sharaa informed him of "opening a new page in the relations between the two countries" and that Syria would not be on one side against another, but beside all Lebanese.
Lebanon’s noninterference assurances
Lebanese and Syrian officials sought to distance Damascus from any future role in confronting Hezbollah during al-Shaybani’s Beirut meetings, with a statement following his meeting with Aoun saying Syria’s intent was to build "sound state-to-state relations based on mutual respect and noninterference."
In a joint press conference after meeting Salam, Shibani was asked whether Beirut would accept Syrian involvement in Lebanon's security if the US pushed for it, and Salam declined to answer directly by pointing to President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s response.
After his separate meeting with Berri, al-Shaybani indicated he would not rule out contacts with Hezbollah, saying, "If the interest requires a meeting with Hezbollah, we are open to it," while Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the group had not been discussed during their talks.
France 24 reported that Shibani stressed there was "no intention by his country to intervene militarily in Lebanon" in response to repeated statements by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting a possible Syrian role in confronting Hezbollah.
The same France 24 account said Aoun welcomed the Syrian stance, affirming Lebanon’s commitment to brotherly relations with Syria based on cooperation and coordination and non-interference in internal affairs of both countries.
Joint committee and next steps
Beyond the Hezbollah-related messaging, the Beirut talks produced an agreement to establish a joint higher committee aimed at strengthening cooperation in political, economic and security fields, announced after Nawaf Salam met visiting Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at the Grand Serail in Beirut.
“Syria, Lebanon stress noninterference as Damascus mulls Hezbollah talks When asked whether Damascus would be willing to meet with Hezbollah in the future, Syria’s foreign minister indicated that it would not rule out such a meeting”
Speaking at a joint news conference, Salam said the objective of the meeting was to enhance cooperation in areas including electricity interconnection between Lebanon and Syria, transport, trade, facilitating cross-border movement, and developing bilateral relations.
Al-Shaybani said the framework would serve as a platform for ministries in both countries to develop partnerships, security coordination and broader cooperation, and he added that Syria seeks to overcome "the negative legacy" in bilateral relations.
The reporting also tied the visit to the recently announced Lebanon-Israel framework, with al-Shaybani saying Syria rejects Israeli attacks on Lebanon and supports the Lebanese state in its efforts to achieve stability, while calling the framework agreement a Lebanese matter and saying, "We want to have a calm dialogue about it."
In parallel, the Al-Jazeera account described the effort as a platform to discuss energy, trade exchange, and security coordination, reflecting a direction toward rebuilding the relationship on the basis of shared interests and a transitional phase in Lebanese–Syrian relations.
