Security issues dominated secret Turkish-mediated talks between Hezbollah and Syria, during which the two sides exchanged messages aimed at easing tensions.
Hezbollah offered assurances that it would stay out of Syria’s security and military affairs and refrain from supporting groups affiliated with the former government, in return for a Syrian pledge not to intervene militarily in Lebanon as part of any plan to disarm the group there.
Reuters cited six sources familiar with the matter as saying representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanon’s Hezbollah held direct talks in Türkiye in an effort to ease tensions.
It described the meeting as the first known encounter of its kind between the two longtime adversaries.
While Hezbollah has kept silent on the matter, Lebanese sources familiar with the group’s activities told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the second meeting.
An initial encounter to “break the ice” took place in Istanbul on the sidelines of the “Pledge for Jerusalem Conference,” hosted by Türkiye last December.
Hezbollah’s delegation was led by Ammar al-Moussawi, the group’s official responsible for Arab and international relations.
“Türkiye is continuing to mediate between the two sides, and contacts through Türkiye intensified after US President Donald Trump’s threats that Damascus could carry out the task of disarming Hezbollah,” the sources said, referring to remarks in which he said Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa could accomplish the task.
The sources said the second meeting, reported by Reuters, took place in Türkiye during the first 10 days of September. No Hezbollah security or military officials attended, they added.
The two meetings “do not amount to negotiations or understandings, but fall within the framework of messages exchanged between the two sides through Turkish mediation,” the sources said.
Security priorities
Security issues top both sides’ priorities amid concerns, including Syrian fears that Hezbollah could support remnants of the former government or seek to reactivate the southern Syrian front against Israel.
Hezbollah has repeatedly denied in statements that it intervenes in Syrian affairs or supports any groups in southern Syria.
The sources said Türkiye “worked to address the fears previously raised by President Trump’s remarks about Syrian intervention inside Lebanon against Hezbollah, and provided assurances of no interference whatsoever in Lebanese affairs, in return for assurances from Hezbollah that it would stay entirely out of the Syrian arena, refrain from obstructing security measures along the border with Lebanon, and pledge not to provide support of any kind to groups affiliated with the former government.”
They said Hezbollah “publicly affirms that it is staying entirely out of the Syrian arena and is not intervening there in any way, maintaining its focus on Lebanon.”
Effort to ease tensions
Those accounts align with what Reuters reported from its sources, who included two Syrian officials, a US official and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah.
The six sources said the meeting took place last month at the invitation of Türkiye’s security and intelligence services in an effort to reduce tensions.
It brought together Hezbollah representatives and officials from Syria’s intelligence services and Foreign Ministry.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry, Türkiye’s foreign and defense ministries, and the US State Department did not respond to Reuters’ questions about the meeting. Hezbollah’s media office declined to comment.
Both Hezbollah and the Syrian government had signaled openness to talks.
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said in July that Damascus was open to meeting the group. A month later, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said in a televised address that the group had no objection to meeting Syria’s leadership.
Resolving points of tension
The US official, the two Syrian officials and the Lebanese source said the meeting focused on resolving points of tension between the two sides and went well.
One Syrian official said the two sides agreed there was no hostility between them, and Syria assured Hezbollah it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to disarm the group.
The official said Syrian representatives, in turn, asked Hezbollah to help halt cross-border smuggling attempts and dismantle its remaining sleeper cells, particularly in southern Syria.
According to Reuters, the Syrian official said Hezbollah’s representatives did not directly respond to the request to halt arms smuggling and dismantle its cells in Syria, but pledged not to interfere in Syrian affairs.
The Lebanese source, who had direct knowledge of the meeting and its outcome, said the two sides “made significant progress on security issues.”
“Hezbollah wants to protect its rear,” the source said, referring to fears of a Syrian attack on the group inside Lebanon.
Both the Syrian official and the Lebanese source said no final agreement was reached and there was no plan to issue an announcement. The Lebanese source said contacts between the two sides through Türkiye began about two months ago.
Iran absent from meeting
Three of the sources said Türkiye, a key ally of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, pushed for the meeting because it wanted to be directly involved in those efforts. Iran, Hezbollah’s main backer, was absent from the meetings.
The Lebanese security source said Hezbollah attended with Iran’s knowledge, but Tehran was disappointed that it was not directly involved and that Sharaa has so far rejected the idea of establishing any direct relations with it.
That disappointment was the main reason no final agreement was reached and no announcement was made about the meeting, the source said.
