Lebanese-Syrian relations committees hold first meeting in Damascus

BEIRUT — A Lebanese committee and a Syrian committee, tasked by their respective countries to monitor relations following the fall of the Assad regime, held their first meeting in Damascus recently, Justice Minister Adel Nassar announced on Tuesday, without specifying the exact date of the meeting.

The meeting reportedly addressed several sensitive security and judicial matters. Top of the agenda was the issue of people from both countries detained in the others' prisons.

The decision to establish these committees was made during the visit by a Syrian delegation to Beirut last Monday, in meetings chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri. The initiative is part of "new mechanisms aimed at strengthening communication and coordination between the two countries," Nassar said.

It was agreed that a second meeting between the two committees would take place in the near future in Beirut.

Lebanon-Syria relations have taken on a new dimension since former Syrian dictator Bashar Assad's regime was toppled last December. The country's new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa has made efforts to mend what had become a hostile relationship under Assad.

However there are still several issues seeking resolution, including the dispute over border demarcation, the presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and the fate of prisoners belonging to Salafist movements, particularly Ahmad al-Assir.

Sectarian clashes affecting several minorities in Syria, including Alawites, Druze and Christians in recent months, have aroused some mistrust in Lebanon toward the new Syrian authorities, although religious leaders in Lebanon are largely united in calling for peace through dialogue. Syria has also moved to crack down on the presence of Hezbollah within its borders, shutting down the party's networks used to move weapons, drugs and funds. Hezbollah was allied with Assad, who fled to Russia.