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Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani conducted an official visit to Beirut on Thursday, meeting with President Jozef Aoun, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and senior Lebanese political figures including Walid Jumblatt and Samir Geagea. The visit, which culminated in the signing of an agreement establishing a Lebanese-Syrian High Joint Committee, signals a substantive reset in bilateral relations and arrives at a moment of intense domestic political conflict over Lebanon's framework agreement with Israel signed in Washington.
Details:
Al-Shaibani framed the visit as foundational, stating that Syria and Lebanon are "establishing a new phase of relations" built on mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs. According to Al-Markazia, President Aoun relayed to al-Shaibani that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa had personally assured him, across multiple meetings and calls, that Syria would not replicate its former role in Lebanon and would not align with one Lebanese faction against another. Al-Shaibani confirmed Syria's rejection of Israeli strikes on Lebanon and described the framework agreement as strictly "an internal Lebanese matter."
Walid Jumblatt, following his meeting with al-Shaibani, stated clearly that he prefers a "balanced and objective" relationship with Syria over any agreement he characterized as "worse than May 17" — a reference to the ill-fated 1983 Lebanese-Israeli accord. Samir Geagea, who received an official invitation to visit Damascus, said he conveyed to al-Shaibani a message for President al-Sharaa emphasizing that Lebanon must be treated as "a sovereign, free, and independent state," and suggested Syria could assist in reducing Iranian influence on Lebanese territory. Al-Nahar reported that al-Shaibani's meetings collectively entrenched a new framework premised on sovereign equality and sealed off the prospect of renewed Syrian political guardianship over Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese cabinet convened in the Grand Serail to discuss the Washington trilateral framework agreement signed between Lebanon, the United States, and Israel. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam described the document as a "roadmap for negotiations." However, Al-Diyar reported that ministers affiliated with the Amal-Hezbollah duo rejected the agreement in both form and substance, with Environment Minister Tamara al-Zein insisting the cabinet not be bypassed as it was previously. Parliament Speaker Berri was reported by Al-Markazia to be calling for a settlement rather than openly seeking to collapse the framework, while Free Patriotic Movement leader Gibran Bassil told reporters he supports the principle of negotiation but rejects the agreement's implementation mechanisms and commitments.
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