Lebanon and Syria will work together to secure their land borders, as well as to delineate both land and sea borders, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday in Damascus
Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati meet with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus, Syria, January 11, 2025 © Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham
Lebanon and Syria will work together to secure their land borders, as well as to delineate both land and sea borders, Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday in Damascus.
In the first trip by a Lebanese prime minister to neighbouring Syria in 15 years, Mikati addressed a joint news conference in Damscus with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Al-Sharaa said they had discussed issues including smuggling between the two countries, border challenges, and Syrian deposits in Lebanese banks.
Both sides agreed to establish committees to address these matters and provide support.
Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun, said following his election on Thursday that there was a historic opportunity for "serious and equitable dialogue" with Syria.
For much of the Assad family's five decades in power, Syria held significant influence over Lebanon, maintaining a military presence there for 29 years until 2005 in the face of widespread opposition from many Lebanese.
Reporting by Tala Ramadan
The past few days have unfolded like a geopolitical drama of historic proportions in Lebanon, where Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militia long considered untouchable, appears to be teetering on the edge of a seismic shift.
The U.S. military will consolidate its presence in Syria over the coming weeks and months in a move that could reduce the number of troops it has in the country by half, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Friday.
In a defiant speech on Friday evening, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, insisted that the group “will not allow anyone to disarm it,” rejecting growing internal calls for the Lebanese state to reclaim exclusive control over the country’s weapons.
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