Contacts Between FPM, Lebanese Forces to Protect ‘Maarab Understanding’

LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)
LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)
TT
20

Contacts Between FPM, Lebanese Forces to Protect ‘Maarab Understanding’

LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)
LF chief Samir Geagea welcomes then MP Michel Aoun to his headquarters in Maarab, northeast of Beirut, on January 18, 2016. (AFP)

Contacts and meetings resumed between the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Lebanese Forces (LF) party in an attempt to revive already tense relations between the two largest Christian forces in Lebanon.

Ties became strained after the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in November, a position backed by the LF.

Information Minister Melhem Riachi, of the LF, and MP Ibrahim Kanaan, of the FPM, are tasked with the mission of repairing relations between the two sides.

The two officials were the sponsors of the Maarab understanding reached in 2016 to end nearly 30 years of disputes between the two Christian parties. The agreement led the LF to announce its backing of Michel Aoun for the country’s presidency. He was elected later that year.

An FPM official and former minister Mario Aoun told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday that relations between both parties is not measured by the presence of some simple disputes, but by their agreement on essential issues.

“The FPM and LF relationship is bound by essential understandings that could not be overlooked,” he said.

The FMP position is shared by the LF.

“There are differences over some positions, but we already agreed to accept each other’s differences,” LF MP Joseph Maalouf told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The disputed files between both sides are countless, and include disagreements over issues related to the oil and electricity sectors, in addition to the issue of appointments in public institutions.

Despite revitalized relations, it does not appear that they would be sufficient for both parties to strike alliances for the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for May.

“The current agreements between the FPM and LF do not mean their translation into electoral alliances,” Aoun said.

He said that the new electoral law is capable of testing the electoral capacities of each party.



Tom Barrack: There Is One Syria

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
TT
20

Tom Barrack: There Is One Syria

Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, meets with US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack at the People's Palace in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

US Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack described on Saturday the lifting of US sanctions on Syria as a “strategic fresh start” for the war-ravaged nation and said that the US was not intending to pursue “nation-building or federalism.”

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, quoted Barrack as telling the Arab News website, that the Trump administration’s removal of sanctions on May 13 was aimed at offering the Syrian people “a new slice of hope” following over a decade of civil war.

He described the Middle East as a “difficult zip code at an amazingly historic time.”

“President (Trump)’s message is peace and prosperity,” Barrack said, adding that “sanctions gave the people hope. That’s really all that happened at that moment.”

He noted that the US policy shift is intended to give the emerging Syrian regime a chance to rebuild.

The envoy clarified that the original US involvement in Syria was driven by counter-ISIS operations, and not aimed at regime change or humanitarian intervention.

He reaffirmed Washington’s position against a federal model for Syria, saying the country must remain unified with a single army and government.

“There’s not going to be six countries. There’s going to be one Syria,” he said, ruling out the possibility of separate autonomous regions.

Barrack added: “The US is not dictating terms but would not support a separatist outcome: We’re not going to be there forever as the babysitter.”

Last Wednesday, the Syrian government welcomed any path with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that would enhance the unity and territorial integrity of the country, reiterating its unwavering commitment to the principle of “One Syria, One Army, One Government,” and its categorical rejection of any form of partition or federalism.

Barrack confirmed that the US is closely monitoring the announcement that the first group of PKK fighters had destroyed their weapons in northern Iraq.

“This could be the first step towards long-term resolution of the Kurdish issue in Türkiye,” he said, but cautioned that questions remain about the SDF’s ongoing ties to the PKK leadership. “They (the SDF) have to decide: Are they Syrians? Are they Kurds first? That’s their issue.”

The envoy stressed that the current US strategy offers a narrow but real chance at stability.