Syria Responds to Post About Direct Talks with Hezbollah in Turkey

On Thursday, the Syrian government responded to claims about direct talks with the Lebanese Hezbollah group in Turkey. The claim came from a post by the account holder Timour Azhari on the platform X (formerly Twitter), which stated: "The Syrian government and the armed group 'Hezbollah' held direct talks in Turkey in an attempt to ease tensions between them, according to six sources familiar with the first meeting known between these two parties who have long been adversaries."

The 'Syrian Response' page, managed by the Syrian government, replied on the X platform, stating: "These claims are false. This comes at a time when tensions are escalating between the Syrian government and Hezbollah, as Syrian authorities announced on Tuesday the thwarting of a 'sabotage plot' in the Yarmouk Basin in the southern province of Daraa, accusing a cell it said was affiliated with Lebanese Hezbollah of being involved in it.

The official Syrian news channel, Al-Ikhbariya, reported on Tuesday that internal security forces said this occurred as part of a 'preemptive security operation' in cooperation with the General Intelligence Directorate. Since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime, Hezbollah has repeatedly denied involvement in military movements inside Syria.