President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Ahmad al-Sharaa received Prime Minister of the Lebanese Republic, Nawaf Salam, and the accompanying delegation at People’s Palace in Damascus. SANA
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Monday traveled to Syria on his first official visit to meet interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, a Lebanese official said, seeking to readjust bilateral ties.
It is the first trip to Damascus by a senior Lebanese official since a new government was formed in Beirut in February, two months after an Islamist-led alliance ousted longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.
This visit is “key to correcting the course of ties between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect”, the Lebanese official told AFP, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media.
Beirut and Damascus have been seeking to improve ties since the overthrow of Assad, whose family dynasty commanded a decades-long tutelage over Lebanon and is accused of assassinating numerous Lebanese officials who expressed opposition to its rule.
The official said Monday’s discussions were expected to include controlling and demarcating the porous, 330-kilometre (205-mile) shared border, as well as combatting smuggling.
Last month during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the Lebanese and Syrian defence ministers signed an agreement to address security and military threats along the border, after clashes left 10 dead.
Beirut is expected to seek the new authorities’ assistance on “the formation of a commission of inquiry into a large number of assassinations in Lebanon over which the former regime is accused”, the official said.
The official said Monday’s discussions were expected to include controlling and demarcating the porous, 330-kilometre (205-mile) shared border, as well as combatting smuggling.
Last month during a visit to Saudi Arabia, the Lebanese and Syrian defence ministers signed an agreement to address security and military threats along the border, after clashes left 10 dead.
Beirut is expected to seek the new authorities’ assistance on “the formation of a commission of inquiry into a large number of assassinations in Lebanon over which the former regime is accused”, the official said.
Barrons/ AFP