The Syrian Lebanese Higher Council is a relic of the past. It embodied the guardianship that Syria exerted over Lebanon for 15 years, from 1990, the year the civil war ended in Lebanon, until the withdrawal of Damascus’s troops in 2005. Despite the opening of embassies in both countries in 2008, the former Syrian regime never wanted to dissolve this body, which was based in Damascus. The new Syrian authorities acknowledged the clinical death of this institution, which had become an empty shell, but they have not buried this painful symbol, as the government in Beirut would like.
More than a year after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, on December 8, 2024, relations between Lebanon and Syria reflect the state of that issue. Sensitive topics are finally being addressed, but progress remains slow. Lebanon has made the dialogue that has begun with its neighbor a priority.
After more than half a century of “problematic” relations with Syria under the rule of the Assad family (1970-2024) (a discreet phrase used by Tarek Mitri, Lebanon’s deputy prime minister in charge of relations with Damascus), Beirut wants to turn the page and build a relationship based on equality. Even though the post-Assad era remains uncertain, Lebanese authorities are betting that the era of deadly Syrian interference is over. Damascus exerted a long-standing hegemony in Lebanon, pitting communities against each other, especially during the civil war that began in 1976.
Mitri, who maintains both official and unofficial contacts with Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s team, described an atmosphere of “genuine friendship” with the new leadership in power in Damascus. According to him, they are also “eager to establish a new Syrian-Lebanese relationship based on trust and mutual respect.” However, they still harbor deep animosity toward Hezbollah, due to the crucial military support the group provided to the Assad regime from 2012 until its downfall in 2024. The movement took part in some of the darkest chapters of the Syrian conflict, such as the sieges of Darayya and Muadamiyat al-Sham, both suburbs of Damascus, between 2012 and 2016.
You have 88.99% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
