Damascus Refuses to Demarcate Syrian-Lebanese Borders

Vehicles are seen at Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, Lebanon November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
Vehicles are seen at Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, Lebanon November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
TT

Damascus Refuses to Demarcate Syrian-Lebanese Borders

Vehicles are seen at Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, Lebanon November 1, 2018. (Reuters)
Vehicles are seen at Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, Lebanon November 1, 2018. (Reuters)

Banque du Liban’s determination to lift fuel subsidies as of January opens the way for talks about Lebanon’s attempts to demarcate the common borders with Syria, which extend over a length of 357 kilometers.

The issue was publicly raised for the first time during the national dialogue conference, which was hosted by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri in April 2006. At that time, Damascus did not respond to Lebanon’s request, despite the fact that Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah had pledged to communicate with the Syrian leadership over the matter.

Demarcating or delineating the Lebanese-Syrian borders remained unresolved until it was decided to raise it again following a visit by then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri to Damascus in 2010 in response to a Saudi mediation.

Accordingly, then-Minister of Administrative Development, Jean Hogassapian, was assigned the task of preparing the second visit that Hariri undertook at the head of a ministerial and administrative delegation that included 12 ministers, during which he met with his Syrian counterpart Muhammad Naji Al-Atri and the concerned Syrian ministers. The meeting ended with the signing of 28 agreements.

However, the Syrian side, represented by Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, requested to postpone the discussion on the border demarcation file, saying that Damascus was busy demarcating the Syrian-Jordanian border. Al-Muallem also suggested that the disputed Shebaa Farms should not be included in the process.

Until now, the regime in Damascus has been refraining from demarcating the common border between the two countries. Only two meetings were held during Hariri’s assumption of the premiership: the first between the governor of North Lebanon and the governor of Tartous, and the second between the governor of the Bekaa and his Syrian counterpart, the governor of Homs.

Al-Muallem has explicitly refused to start the demarcation process, in response to the IMF demand to close all illegal crossings and demarcate the common borders in order to stop smuggling operations from Lebanon to Syria.

Consequently, the issue was raised again after BDL’s announcement of lifting subsidies and the continuous smuggling of fuel across the border.

In this context, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that local parties in the Bekaa are sponsoring smuggling operations, thus circumventing the American Caesar Act, which imposes sanctions on Syria.

Therefore, Damascus has no interest in demarcating the borders or in cooperating with the Lebanese authorities to stop organized smuggling operations.



US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
TT

US Links Ankara-Damascus Normalization to Political Solution in Syria

Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)
Meeting between Erdogan and Assad in 2010 (Archive)

Recent statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his willingness to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to normalize relations between the two countries have sparked mixed reactions.
While the Syrian opposition sees the possibility of such a meeting despite the challenges, Damascus views the statements as a political maneuver by the Turks. Meanwhile, the United States has tied the normalization process to achieving a political solution in Syria based on UN Security Council Resolution 2254, issued in 2015.
Turkish media reported on Thursday that a US administration official, who was not named, confirmed that Washington is against normalizing relations with the Syrian regime under Assad. He emphasized that Washington cannot accept normalizing ties with Damascus without progress toward a political solution that ends the conflicts in Syria.
Meanwhile, the head of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Hadi al-Bahra, stated that a meeting between Assad and Erdogan is possible despite the obstacles. In a statement to Reuters on Thursday, Bahra said the meeting is feasible, even though Ankara is fully aware that the Assad regime cannot currently meet its demands and understands the regime’s limitations.
Bahra pointed out that the UN-led political process remains frozen and that he had briefed US and Western officials on the latest developments in the Syrian file. On Saturday, Bahra participated in a consultative meeting in Ankara with the Syrian Negotiation Commission, along with a high-level delegation from the US State Department, during which they exchanged views on the political solution and the need to establish binding mechanisms for implementing international resolutions related to the Syrian issue.
On the other side, Assad’s special advisor, Bouthaina Shaaban, dismissed Erdogan’s announcement that Ankara is awaiting a response from Damascus regarding his meeting with Assad for normalization as another political maneuver with ulterior motives.
Shaaban, speaking during a lecture at the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was reported by Turkish media on Thursday, stated that any rapprochement between the two countries is contingent on its withdrawal of forces from Syrian territory.