Skip to main content

Al-Sharaa quashes Lebanon war rumours: "This is speculation"

1 min Antoine Khoury

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has moved to quash speculation about a potential Syrian military intervention in Lebanon, insisting that his country's approach is aimed at ending the war there, not extending it.

Ahmad al-Sharaa. Reuters

Ahmad al-Sharaa. Reuters

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has moved to quash speculation about a potential Syrian military intervention in Lebanon, insisting that his country's approach is aimed at ending the war there, not extending it.

"The rumours circulating about Syria entering Lebanon are nothing but speculation," al-Sharaa said in remarks reported Friday by Lebanese media, adding that "Syria's approach aims to end the war in Lebanon, not to expand it or become involved in it."

The denial comes after President Donald Trump recently suggested that Syria might be willing to intervene against Hezbollah in Lebanon, a statement that had fuelled widespread speculation about Damascus's intentions along its western border.

Al-Sharaa also addressed the sensitive question of the Syrian-Lebanese border demarcation, making clear it was not a priority at this stage. More pressing, he said, was the situation of approximately 1.4 million Syrian refugees currently in Lebanon and the need to find an appropriate mechanism to facilitate their return home.

Antoine Khoury

Antoine Khoury

Antoine Khoury is based in Beirut and has been reporting for Mena Today for the past year. He covers news from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey, and is widely regarded as one of the region’s leading experts

Related

Israel

Trump announces Netanyahu US visit

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit the U.S. next week.

Syria

Guterres makes first UN chief visit to Syria since 2009

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on his first visit to Syria, called Saturday on the international community to help the country as it moves through a transition following years of civil war and the establishment of new authorities.

Iran

China enlists Pakistan to reopen Iran-US channel

Pakistan is exploring a path towards a resumption of stalled U.S.-Iran talks over ending their nearly five-month-old war, three Pakistani sources said, following a push initiated by China.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.