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Syria Rejects Lebanon Intervention Calls, Cites Support for State Authority
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Conflict & Security

Syria Rejects Lebanon Intervention Calls, Cites Support for State Authority

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Syria has rejected calls for its intervention in Lebanon against Hezbollah, stating it supports the Lebanese state's authority.
  • Israel views the proposal as unserious and a political jab, while Beirut insists on handling the issue internally.
  • Syria's media advisor emphasized a new approach focused on enabling Lebanese state sovereignty, distinct from past interventions.

Syria has firmly rejected calls for its military intervention in Lebanon, asserting that its role is to support the Lebanese state's exercise of authority. The remarks come in response to recent statements by U.S. President Donald Trump suggesting Syrian intervention against Hezbollah.

We view our role through supporting the Lebanese state's exercise of its authority.

— Ahmed ZeidanSyrian president's media advisor, explaining Syria's stance on intervention in Lebanon.

Ahmed Zeidan, media advisor to the Syrian president, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Damascus has "no desire to intervene militarily in Lebanon." He stressed that Syria's current approach is based on "enabling the state to exercise its authority and sovereignty over all Lebanese territory," moving away from past practices.

Israel, meanwhile, has largely dismissed Trump's proposal as unserious and a political maneuver aimed at Netanyahu's government. While not concerned about an imminent Syrian intervention, Israel views any such move as a potential expansion of Turkish influence in the region. Syrian and Turkish influence are seen as greater concerns than Iran's, according to Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli.

We reaffirm once again that we see our role through supporting the Lebanese state's exercise of its authority.

— Ahmed ZeidanReiterating Syria's position on supporting Lebanese sovereignty.

Beirut has unequivocally rejected any foreign involvement, including from Syria, in the situation with Hezbollah. Lebanese officials emphasized that addressing the issue is exclusively the responsibility of the Lebanese state and its institutions. Zeidan also called on Hezbollah to cease its involvement in Syria, whether through direct intervention or by supporting remnants of the former Syrian regime.

Those who remain governed by the mentality and thinking of 1976, the year Syrian forces entered Lebanon, should understand that today we are in the moment of December 8, 2024, the date of the fall of Bashar al Assad's regime, the moment of a new Syria.

— Ahmed ZeidanDescribing the shift in Syria's regional policy and its relationship with Lebanon.

Zeidan highlighted a "new Syria" that is not governed by the "mentality and thinking of 1976," when Syrian forces first entered Lebanon. This new approach aims to strengthen Lebanese state authority and sovereignty, free from militia influence that has historically imposed a heavy cost on the region.

Syria and Türkiye 'pose a far greater concern than Iran.'

— Amichai ChikliIsraeli Diaspora Affairs Minister, commenting on regional influences.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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