A man holds the Syrian revolution flag on Dec. 8, 2024, at the Masnaa border crossing in Lebanon, a few hours after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's dictatorship. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday, in an interview with Lebanese channel LBCI, that it is "open to cooperation" with Lebanese authorities regarding "the demarcation of the border with Lebanon and security cooperation" between the two countries.
These remarks come as the Lebanese government recently adopted "the objectives" of the roadmap of the U.S. envoy for Lebanon and Syria, Tom Barrack, which, among other things, calls for demarcating the eastern border with Syria.
"The demarcation of the border with Lebanon and security cooperation are important issues because they could lead to extensive economic cooperation between the two countries. We are therefore open to cooperation," the ministry said, commenting on Tom Barrack's roadmap.
The Cabinet adopted "the objectives" of Tom Barrack's roadmap last Thursday, which sets a timetable for the disarmament of Hezbollah and all other militias on Lebanese territory by the end of the year. The "permanent demarcation and definition of the border between Lebanon and Syria" is also one of the 11 points in the document.
At the end of March, the Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where they agreed to strengthen security and military coordination along their 330-kilometer-long shared border, which is known for being porous and for being a common site of trafficking. They also signed a memorandum of understanding for border demarcation.
On April 14, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with the new Syrian leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa in Damascus to discuss, among other topics, border security. In February and March, sporadic clashes pitted Shiite clans, known to be close to Hezbollah, against the new Syrian authorities in the border areas.
The latest incident occurred Monday, when a resident of Hosh al-Sayed Ali — a village straddling the Lebanon–Syria border, partly within Lebanon’s Hermel region (Bekaa) — was killed at home by unidentified assailants.
The area has seen recurring tensions since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Dec. 2024, as the border remains undefined and Hezbollah, along with Shiite clans stretching into Syria’s Qoussair region, has lost influence to the Sunni Islamist coalition now in power in Syria.
It was not immediately possible to determine if Monday’s homicide was related to cross-border tensions.
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