Lebanonupdated 1h ago2 min read
MapTarek Mitri Leads Lebanese Delegation To Damascus Talks With Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad Al-Shaibani
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Lebanese Deputy PM Tarek Mitri led delegation to Damascus for refugee return talks. Talks aim to establish joint committees to facilitate returns and address admin, social, educational issues.
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Damascus talks, unresolved disputes
Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri led a ministerial delegation to Damascus for talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Shaibani, with Education Minister Rima Karameh, Social Development Minister Haneen Sayed, and Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar joining the visit. The delegation sought to project a positive atmosphere afterward, but it highlighted two absences that marked the meeting. Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar sent a technical team in his place after Syrian Interior Minister Anas Khattab canceled at the last minute, citing an “emergency,” according to a statement.
L'Orient Today said the delegation was not received by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, contrary to expectations, even as disputes remained unresolved. The talks in Damascus were framed as continuing dialogue between Lebanon and Syria, with officials meeting their respective counterparts after the Deputy Prime Minister’s delegation arrived.
Refugee returns and committees
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani received Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri at Tishreen Palace in Damascus on Monday for talks focused on the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon.
Joint committees were established to facilitate the process and address administrative challenges, while ministerial sessions began to translate general agreements into operational steps.
The discussions included administrative, social and educational dimensions of refugee returns, with protocols regarding documentation, school enrollment and labor market access on the agenda.
Anadolu Ajansı said the talks also covered administrative, social and educational matters related to the presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and it described the visit as continuing the work of joint committees formed by the two sides.
Both accounts tied the latest talks to earlier Damascus negotiations on Oct. 19 between Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Hanin Sayed and her Syrian counterpart Hind Kabawat.
Return figures and next steps
Hanin Sayed told the delegations during the Oct. 19 talks in Damascus that approximately 700,000 Syrians had returned from Lebanon by September 2026, citing United Nations refugee agency statistics.
Sayed emphasized that sustainable returns require access to housing, educational facilities, basic services and employment opportunities for returnees, while Kabawat called for joint committees and working groups.
SANA described the Monday meeting as part of ongoing coordination between Damascus and Beirut, with the return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon topping the agenda.
SANA said ministers from both sides began bilateral meetings covering matters within their respective areas of responsibility, with discussions aimed at identifying practical steps to address shared challenges.
The sources framed the next phase as structured ministerial working groups and continued dialogue through direct dialogue and specialized committees, centered on refugee returns and related administrative, social and educational issues.