Ankara (Monitoring Desk) Secret direct talks were held between representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanon’s Hezbollah in Türkiye last month, with the aim of reducing tensions between the two sides. It was the first known direct meeting between the two sides since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government.
According to sources, the talks were attended by Syrian intelligence and Foreign Ministry officials as well as representatives of Hezbollah. The meeting was held at the invitation of Türkiye’s security and intelligence agencies and aimed to reduce tensions over mutual security-related issues.
Syrian officials asked Hezbollah to stop cross-border arms smuggling and cooperate in dismantling its alleged covert networks, particularly those operating in southern Syria.
According to sources, Syria assured Hezbollah that it would not take military action to disarm the group in Lebanon. Hezbollah assured Syria that it would not interfere in Syrian affairs. However, no final commitment was made regarding the Syrian demands concerning smuggling and the alleged covert networks.
Sources said progress was made on security issues during the talks, but no final agreement was reached between the two sides, and there were also no plans to make the meeting public.
According to the report, Türkiye played an important role in bringing the two sides to the negotiating table, while Iran, a key Hezbollah ally, was not included in the direct talks.