Lebanon’s PM meets Syria’s de facto leader in Damascus

Lebanon’s Mikati and Syria’s al-Sharaa sermon bilateral issues, including smuggling betwixt the 2 countries and borderline challenges.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said Beirut and Damascus volition enactment unneurotic to unafraid their onshore borders, arsenic good arsenic to delineate some onshore and oversea borders.

In the archetypal travel by a Lebanese premier curate to neighbouring Syria successful 15 years, Mikati addressed a associated quality league with Syria’s de facto person Ahmed al-Sharaa successful the superior Damascus connected Saturday.

Al-Sharaa said they had discussed issues including smuggling betwixt the 2 countries, borderline challenges, and Syrian deposits successful Lebanese banks.

He said helium expected “long-term strategical relations” with neighbouring Lebanon aft the crisis-hit state elected a much-needed president.

“We and Lebanon person large shared interests,” al-Sharaa added.

Both sides agreed to found committees to code these matters and supply support.

Al Jazeera’s Hamza Mohamed, reporting from Damascus, said the 2 leaders agreed to enactment to forestall smuggling betwixt the 2 countries.

“Smugglers utilized to nonstop weapons and drugs from Syria into Lebanon,” helium said.

“This was rather important for the Lebanese person and helium mentioned that,” our analogous added.

Lebanon’s eastbound borderline is porous and known for smuggling.

Lebanese equipped radical Hezbollah supported al-Assad with fighters during Syria’s civilian war.

However, the Iran-aligned question has been weakened aft a warfare with Israel killed its longtime person and damaged the group’s firepower, a origin helping the Syrian rebels to seize Damascus past month.

Refugees

Al Jazeera’s Mohamed besides said al-Sharaa stressed that his state was trying to find a mode to resoluteness the question of Syrian refugees successful Lebanon – a ample load to the country’s crippled economy.

Lebanon is estimated to big astir 1.5 cardinal Syrian refugees, who fled the civilian warfare successful the state that started successful 2011.

About 13 years of struggle person killed much than fractional a cardinal people, ravaged the economy, and pushed millions to fly their homes arsenic they were displaced internally and externally.

Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun said connected Thursday that determination was a historical accidental for “serious and equitable dialogue” with Syria.

For overmuch of the al-Assad family’s 5 decades successful power, Syria held important power implicit Lebanon, maintaining a subject beingness for 29 years successful the look of wide absorption from galore Lebanese.

Syria yet withdrew its troops successful 2005 nether planetary unit aft the assassination of Lebanese erstwhile Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Source

:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies