Unprecedented direct talks between the Syrian government and Hezbollah in Türkiye to calm tensions

Six informed sources reported that representatives of the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah group held direct talks in Turkey, in an attempt to calm tensions between the two sides. This is the first known meeting of its kind between the two parties, which have long been adversaries.

The sources, which included two Syrian officials, an American official, and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah, told Reuters that Syrian officials and representatives of the Iran-allied group met secretly at least once last month.

For years, the Hezbollah group sent fighters to Syria to defend the government of former President Bashar al-Assad during the civil war that the country witnessed.

After Assad was overthrown in late 2024 in a lightning attack, tensions escalated between the new Syrian government and Hezbollah, as Damascus accused the group of transporting weapons through Syria, while the United States encouraged the Syrian army to send forces to Lebanon to fight Hezbollah.

The six sources said that last month's meeting included representatives of Hezbollah and officials from the Syrian intelligence and foreign ministry, and was held at the invitation of the Turkish security and intelligence services in an attempt to calm the situation.

All sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive meeting, which had not been previously reported.

The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Turkish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, and the US State Department have not yet responded to Reuters’ questions about the meeting. Hezbollah's media office declined to comment.

The American official, the two Syrian officials, and the Lebanese source said that the meeting focused on resolving the points of tension between the two parties, and it went well.

One of the Syrian officials stated that the two sides agreed that there is no hostility between them, and that Syria assured Hezbollah that it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon to disarm the group.

The official said that Syrian officials, in turn, asked Hezbollah to help stop cross-border smuggling attempts and dismantle its remaining sleeper cells, especially in southern Syria.

On Tuesday, Syria announced that it had arrested a Hezbollah cell that was preparing to launch missiles in southern Syria. On Wednesday, the Hezbollah group denied its involvement in the matter, and said that it has no presence at all on Syrian territory, nor any involvement in any security or military activity there.

The Syrian official said that Hezbollah representatives did not provide a direct response to the request to stop weapons smuggling and dismantle its cells in Syria, but they pledged not to interfere in Syrian affairs.

The Lebanese source, who has direct knowledge of the meeting and its results, commented that the two sides “have made great progress on security issues.”

Both the Syrian official and the Lebanese source said that no final agreement had been reached, and that there was no plan to make an announcement. The Lebanese source told Reuters that communication between the two parties via Türkiye began about two months ago.

Reuters was unable to confirm the location of the September meeting in Türkiye, its duration, or whether other meetings were held before or after it.