Hezbollah official says Lebanon is country that most needs to establish relations with Syria

Nabil Kaouk, a member of Hezbollah's central council, said Monday that Lebanon is "the Arab country that needs to establish relations with Syria the most." Kaouk's comments come as Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries move to bring Damascus back into the fold after more than a decade of diplomatic isolation imposed on the Assad regime following its repression in 2011 of a popular uprising that degenerated into a deadly civil war.

"Arab countries are now turning to Damascus, because they see an interest, except for Lebanon which is [the country] most affected by its distance from Syria," Kaouk said, adding that Beirut has "been slow to follow the Arabs."

"The Arab country that needs to establish relations with Syria the most is Lebanon, and the one that will benefit from it the most is also Lebanon. The country is slow to restore these ties because some people are sacrificing national interests for the benefit of the United States," Kaouk said, pointing out that "Hezbollah was clear from the beginning" on this topic. "We called for improving, developing and activating relations between Lebanon and Syria, and assured that they are a national necessity," he said.

Kaouk's party, Hezbollah, intervened militarily in the Syrian civil war on the side of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, while Lebanon's government adopted an official policy of "disassociation" toward the war in its neighbor.

However, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry last week expressed support for "Arab efforts to find an Arab solution to the Syrian crisis," the day after a meeting between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Syria — the first such meeting since the beginning of the civil war.

Since the deadly Feb. 6 earthquake that devastated southern Turkey and parts of neighboring Syria, Saudi Arabia, which severed relations with Damascus in 2012, has been sending aid to affected populations in both government-controlled and rebel-held areas. The two countries have also begun discussions on resuming consular services.

On April 15, diplomats from several Arab countries met in Saudi Arabia to discuss relations with Syria and agreed that the region should play a "leading role" in resolving the crisis. The Saudi-Syrian rapprochement comes after the restoration of ties between two Middle Eastern rivals: Iran, a major ally of Damascus, and Saudi Arabia, which had severed diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic in 2016.