Ankara's fingerprints all over Syria's secret rapprochement with Hezbollah

Representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have held face-to-face talks in Turkey to try to calm tensions between them, according to six sources briefed on the first known meeting between the longtime foes.  

The Syrian officials and the Iran-aligned group met secretly at least once last month, the sources - who include two Syrian officials, a US official and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah - told Reuters.

Hezbollah for years dispatched fighters to Syria to defend former President Bashar al-Assad's government during the country's civil war. 

After Assad was ousted in late 2024 in a lightning rebel offensive, tensions rose between Syria's new government and Hezbollah - with Damascus accusing the group of transferring arms through Syria, and the United States encouraging Syria's military to send forces into Lebanon to fight Hezbollah.

The six sources said Hezbollah representatives and Syrian intelligence and foreign ministry officials had taken part in the meeting last month at the invitation of Turkish security and intelligence agencies in an effort to de-escalate.

All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting. 

Syria's foreign ministry, Turkey's foreign and defense ministries and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' questions about the meeting. Hezbollah's media office declined to comment.

After publication, the Syrian government's English-language account on X denied such a meeting had taken place, saying "these claims are false."

OFFICIALS DISCUSSED MUTUAL SECURITY CONCERNS, SOURCES SAY

The meeting focused on resolving points of tension between the two parties and went well, according to the US official, the Syrian officials and the Lebanese source. 

One of the Syrian officials said both sides agreed they held no hostility towards one another, and that Syria assured Hezbollah that it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to disarm the group.

In turn, Syrian officials asked Hezbollah to help stop cross-border smuggling attempts and dismantle its remaining sleeper cells, particularly in southern Syria, the official said.

Syria said on Tuesday it had captured a Hezbollah cell preparing to launch rockets in southern Syria. Hezbollah denied on Wednesday that it was involved and said it "has no presence whatsoever on Syrian territory and has no involvement in any security or military activity there."

The Syrian official said Hezbollah's representatives had not given a direct answer on the request to halt arms smuggling and dismantle its Syria-based cells, but did pledge not to interfere in Syria's affairs.

The Lebanese source, who has direct knowledge of the meeting and its outcomes, said the two sides "made a lot of progress on security issues."

"Hezbollah wants to protect its flank," the source said, referring to concerns about a Syrian attack on the group within Lebanon. 

Both the Syrian official and the Lebanese source said no final agreement had been reached and that no announcement had been planned.

The Lebanese source told Reuters that contact between the two parties via Turkey had begun about two months ago. 

Reuters could not confirm where in Turkey the September meeting was held, how long it lasted and whether other meetings had been held before or since. 

TURKEY PUSHED FOR MEETING, IRAN ABSENT

Both Hezbollah and Syria's government had signalled they would be open to speaking to one another. 

In July, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said Damascus was open to meeting the group. A month later, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a televised address that the group had no objection to meeting Syria's leadership. 

Ankara portrays itself as a key regional stakeholder in rebuilding and stabilising Syria. Under President Tayyip Erdogan, it has also sought to position itself as a facilitator of regional dialogue and is keen to boost stability in the region.

Three of the sources said it was Turkey, a key ally of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, that pushed for the meeting as it was keen to be directly involved in those efforts. 

Absent from the meetings, however, was Hezbollah's main sponsor, Iran. 

The Lebanese security source said Hezbollah attended the meeting with Iran's knowledge, but that Tehran was disappointed that it was not a direct participant and that Sharaa had rebuffed any notion of direct ties to Iran for now. 

That disappointment was the main reason that no final agreement was reached and no announcement about the meeting was made, the source said. 

There was no immediate comment from Iran's permanent mission in Geneva.