Syria’s new leader Ahmad Shalla meets with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Damascus, laying the “foundation for a new phase” in bilateral relations. Photo: Dalati Nohra/EPA-EFE
BEIRUT, Lebanon, Jan. 11 (UPI) — Syria’s new leader Ahmad Shalla on Saturday called on Lebanon to forget its past “negative” relations resulting from decades of Assad family rule and to resolve all remaining issues. , committed to establishing a long-term strategic relationship.
Sharaa said Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s visit to Damascus “lays the foundations for a new phase” and that there is a “long-term strategic relationship” between the two neighbors with “huge mutual interests”. It will be built,” he said.
“Let us give both countries the opportunity to build a positive relationship based on respect for our countries and their sovereignty,” he said at a joint press conference with Mikati.
He cited the “damaged” relationship under the rule of Syria’s late president Hafez al-Assad and his son and successor Bashar al-Assad, who announced his anti-Islamic campaign on December 8. He said he was expelled by the government organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
Lebanon has suffered from decades of Syrian military presence, political control and manipulation, which has had a major impact on its governance, political life, economy and stability.
Syrian forces first entered Lebanon in 1976 to stop the then-raging civil war, but were forced to withdraw after former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a powerful explosion targeting a convoy in Beirut on February 14. remained until 2005.
Syria imposed itself as the main power broker after being granted guardianship of Lebanon at the end of the civil war in 1990 under the Taaf Agreement, known as the National Reconciliation Agreement.
It was accused of involvement in Hariri’s assassination and the killings of top politicians, ministers, parliamentarians, security officials and journalists both during the war and during peacetime. It was also a major supporter of its once-powerful ally Hezbollah, providing support and assistance to anti-Israel resistance.
But its influence over Lebanon began to weaken rapidly after 2011, when peaceful anti-Assad protests erupted and soon turned into a bloody civil war.
Shaller pledged that a new Syria would not support one political party in Lebanon and would try to resolve all issues between the two countries “through consultation and dialogue.”
Syria under Assad previously interfered in Lebanon’s political decisions and foreign policy, forcing it to elect a president, name a prime minister, and appoint ministers and key government positions.
The Shara’a-Mikati talks focused on controlling the two countries’ land borders, including illegal border crossings that are primarily used for arms and drug smuggling, and demarcating both land and sea borders.
Assad’s fall has further weakened Hezbollah, which was hit hard during the war with Israel, and deprived the extremist group of Iran’s main weapons and funding lines.
“One of our top priorities is land and sea border demarcation, which will take some time. Today, we have full control of our borders, especially illegal border crossing points, to stop smuggling,” Mikati said. We should,” he said.
He pledged to stop “any actions that could threaten the security” of Lebanon and Syria, stressed the need to strengthen joint measures on the border and said he would establish a joint commission to carry out the delineation process. Announced.
Earlier this month, Syria imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese nationals following clashes between Lebanese army soldiers and armed Syrians over the closure of border crossings.
Mr. Sharaa and Mr. Mikati also discussed the issue of the hundreds of Lebanese who have been arrested by the Syrian army and disappeared in prisons during their nearly 30-year stay in Syria.
Of the 725 people counted by Lebanon’s Special Emergency Committee, only nine Lebanese prisoners returned to Lebanon after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.
Mikati said Lebanon would provide the new Syrian regime with a list containing the names of all Lebanese missing in Syrian prisons.
Asked about the fate of American journalist Austin Tice, who the U.S. government says was abducted by the Syrian government 12 years ago, he said new Syrian authorities “have not been able to find him living according to the will of God.” He said he was following the incident with “every concern for what we discover.”
