Syria's principled Lebanon stance...

The first warning signal came last week from Hezbollah Secretary-General Naïm Qassem: he stated that the US is pressuring Syria to carry out a military intervention in Lebanon alongside Israel, but that the new Syrian administration has resisted this. Subsequently, some reports in the American press confirmed that President Trump had expectations from Syria in this direction. Finally, Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa officially announced in a detailed interview with Mashhad TV that they have no intention of carrying out a military intervention in Lebanon.

The points Ahmad al-Sharaa emphasized in the interview contained clear and definitive answers to those seeking to poison Syrian-Lebanese relations once again:

"We, as Syria, want to contribute to the establishment of stability in our region through political, diplomatic, and economic channels," said Sharaa, reminding that they have made concrete proposals to the US and other international parties for resolving the Lebanon issue and ending hostilities. Noting that with economic relations between Syria and Lebanon being put on track, the impact of the crisis on both countries would also be reduced, Sharaa said, "Instability in Lebanon directly affects us, especially in border areas. Negotiation is the only option to prevent further escalation of tensions." Emphasizing that there are serious differences of opinion between Lebanon's current administration and Hezbollah on one side and Damascus on the other, Sharaa stated that nevertheless, they are open to dialogue as long as it serves the interests of both countries.

Ahmad al-Sharaa's statements were received with satisfaction on the Lebanese front. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, in a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, described President Sharaa's approach to Lebanon as "sincere and brotherly." Similar statements and messages of thanks came from the Lebanese government.

A history of grievance

Syrian-Lebanese relations have had a painful trajectory from the first half of the last century to the present day:

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, France, which placed today's Syria and Lebanon under mandate rule, divided Syria into provinces and transformed Lebanon into a separate entity under the name "Greater Lebanon." France, which deepened division through constant interventions in Lebanon's internal dynamics, finally made Lebanon an independent country in 1943 and itself became a dark shadow over this most fragile country in the Middle East. Lebanon's separation meant the loss of a 225-kilometer coastline on the Mediterranean for Syria. Moreover, ancient Islamic cities such as Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon, and Tyre were also severed from the main body.

When the Lebanese civil war broke out in 1975, Syria under Hafez al-Assad saw this as an opportunity to "regain Lebanon." The Syrian army, which entered Lebanon a year later, remained there for nearly 30 years until the assassination of Rafik Hariri in 2005. During this time, Lebanon became a backyard for all kinds of illegitimate activities of Baathist soldiers and bureaucrats. Drug trafficking, prostitution, gambling, and money laundering were routine activities. Over the years, a strategic partnership based on mutual interest emerged between the Baath and Hezbollah, which had penetrated into the capillaries of the Lebanese state. Iran, Hezbollah's patron, not only felt no discomfort with this partnership but closed its eyes, plugged its ears, and even applauded the crushing of Sunni-Islamist structures in Lebanon through the Hezbollah-Baath alliance.

In the atmosphere created by the Hariri assassination, Syria was forced to withdraw from Lebanon. A few years later, when the Arab Spring erupted, this time Hezbollah militants began pouring into Syria to help the Baath regime suppress civilians with the most brutal methods. For 10 years from 2012 onward, sieges in which people died en masse from starvation, every kind of war crime, displacements, rapes, and horrific events took place. Hezbollah was among the lead actors alongside the Baath regime throughout this process; it approved and supported what was done. Although the pro-Iranian front in Türkiye categorically denies all of this with ideological blindness, everything happened before our eyes.

A principled stance

Despite all these painful memories, the moral stance of Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and his team regarding Lebanon and Hezbollah truly deserves every praise. I hope they are not subjected to pressure beyond their capacity and forced to take steps they do not wish to take.