Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has moved to quell renewed speculation that Syria could become involved in the war in Lebanon, saying reports that Damascus intends to intervene militarily are “mere rumors.” Sharaa said Syria’s position at this stage was based on “seeking to stop the war in Lebanon, not becoming involved in it.” His remarks came during a meeting with a delegation from the Damascus countryside. He said demarcating the Syrian-Lebanese border was “not currently a priority” given more urgent files, foremost among them the case of about 1.4 million displaced Syrians in Lebanon and efforts to find a suitable mechanism to ensure their return. US President Donald Trump had recently reaffirmed Washington’s goal of delivering a strong blow to Hezbollah. According to him, Israel has done what is necessary in the south, but there is still much left to eliminate Hezbollah. He then hinted at possibly having to ask Syria’s involvement. Trump’s remarks prompted a wave of interpretations, amid reports of a possible visit by Sharaa to Washington. The Syrian presidency denied those reports. Sources in Damascus told Asharq Al-Awsat that the US remarks were “a form of reshuffling the cards” and fell within “the framework of negotiating statements and sending messages to Iran.” The sources said, “So far, there has been no official US request to Damascus related to any form of Syrian military intervention in Lebanon.” They said Tom Barrack, Trump’s envoy to Syria and Iraq and Washington’s ambassador in Ankara, had previously asked Damascus “to take a clear, explicit and serious position against Hezbollah.” The sources said Damascus believes it already has such a position, reflected in border control, cutting smuggling routes and high-level coordination with the Lebanese government. They added that “entering the quagmire of war and sending military forces unilaterally is completely ruled out,” and that it was “very, very early” to discuss the possibility of Syrian forces entering Lebanon in support of the Lebanese army. Brigadier General Hassan Abdul Ghani, commander of the Border Guard Forces in the Syrian Arab Army, met last Thursday with a Lebanese army delegation headed by liaison official Brigadier General Michel Boutros, in the presence of several officers. The talks focused on issues of mutual concern, mainly “enhancing cooperation and coordination between the two sides in border control and combating smuggling activities, in a way that contributes to strengthening border security between the two countries.” At the same time, Syria’s Interior Ministry said “Lebanon is a sovereign state and not a backyard, as the former regime viewed it,” stressing that “coordination with Lebanon is the basic pillar for any assistance Syria provides to Lebanon.” Sharaa had expressed Syria’s readiness to provide Lebanon with whatever support and assistance it can, within available capabilities and circumstances, when he received former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in Damascus on the ninth of this month. Media reports said Sharaa told Mikati that “Lebanon’s stability and security constitute a direct Syrian interest,” and that Damascus was keen to build the best relations with the Lebanese state on the basis of mutual respect, good neighborliness and non-interference in internal affairs. The meeting between Sharaa and Mikati, which lasted for hours, discussed the state of bilateral relations between Damascus and Beirut and prospects for developing them in the next stage, along with several economic and investment files of mutual interest, in light of the transformations taking place in the region.
