Reuters: Syrian Officials Held Secret Talks with Hezbollah in Turkey

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Reuters reported today, Thursday, citing six informed sources, that representatives from the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah held direct talks in Turkey in an attempt to ease tensions between the two sides, marking the first such meeting between the two parties who have long been adversaries.

The sources, which included two Syrian officials, an American official, and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah, stated that Syrian officials and representatives of the Iran-aligned Hezbollah met secretly at least once last month.

Hezbollah has been sending fighters to Syria for years to defend Bashar al-Assad's government during the civil war that the country has witnessed.

After the overthrow of Assad in late 2024, tensions escalated between the new Syrian government and Hezbollah, as Damascus accused the group of transporting weapons across Syria, while the United States encouraged the Syrian army to send troops to Lebanon to fight Hezbollah.

The six sources stated that last month's meeting included representatives from Hezbollah and officials from the Syrian intelligence and foreign ministry, and was held at the invitation of Turkish security and intelligence agencies in an attempt to ease tensions.

The American official, the two Syrian officials, and the Lebanese source said that the meeting focused on resolving points of tension between the two parties and went well.

One of the Syrian officials mentioned that both sides agreed that there was no animosity between them, and that Syria assured Hezbollah it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to disarm the group.

The official stated that the Syrian officials, in turn, requested Hezbollah's assistance in stopping smuggling attempts across the border and dismantling the remaining sleeper cells, especially in southern Syria.

Syria announced on Tuesday that it had arrested a Hezbollah cell that was preparing to launch rockets in southern Syria. Hezbollah denied involvement in the matter on Wednesday, stating that it has no presence whatsoever in Syrian territory and no involvement in any security or military activities there.

The Syrian official stated that Hezbollah representatives did not provide a direct response to the request to stop arms smuggling and dismantle its cells in Syria, but they pledged not to interfere in Syrian affairs.

The Lebanese source, who is directly informed about the meeting and its results, commented that the two sides "made significant progress on security issues."

Both the Syrian official and the Lebanese source stated that no final agreement had been reached, and there was no plan to issue a declaration.

The Lebanese source told Reuters that communication between the two parties through Turkey began about two months ago.