BEIRUT

Lebanon and Syria are working to build a new relationship based on trust, shared interests, and mutual respect for sovereignty, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told Anadolu, stressing that cooperation extends beyond the issue of Syrian detainees.

In an interview with Anadolu, Mitri said that discussions between Beirut and Damascus cover a range of issues and that a written agreement is not required to advance bilateral relations.

Mitri visited Syria on Nov. 20, 2025, where he met with President Ahmad al-Sharaa and senior officials as part of renewed diplomatic efforts between the two countries to reorganize pending files and strengthen cooperation.

He said "Israel’s military and air superiority constitutes a threat to regional security," but added that it "cannot rule the region or shape a new Middle East despite its superiority and capacity for destruction."

For over nearly two years, Israel’s military offensive has shaken the Middle East. In addition to its wars in Gaza and Iran, Israel has waged a war in Lebanon, and launched airstrikes on Syria, Yemen, and Qatar.

Israel has occupied Palestinian territory and land in Syria and Lebanon for decades. It has refused to withdraw and has rejected the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the pre-1967 borders.

Syrian-Lebanese files

Mitri said Lebanese-Syrian cooperation includes border control and the return of Syrian refugees.

He said the return of 500,000 Syrian refugees from Lebanon to Syria over the past year would not have been possible without coordination between the two countries, "even without signing formal agreements."

Earlier this year, Lebanon announced that more than half a million Syrian refugees had returned to Syria during 2025 in what officials described as a "safe and sustainable" return.

Before the latest figures were released, Lebanese estimates put the number of Syrians in the country at about 1.5 million, including around 880,000 registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Mitri also said cooperation between Beirut and Damascus "goes beyond the issue of Syrian detainees in Lebanon."

Last week, the two countries signed an agreement to transfer about 300 convicted Syrians to their home country as part of efforts to resolve the issue of detainees in Lebanon dating back to the years of the Syrian uprising and continuing until the fall of the Assad regime in late 2024.

Mitri noted that the issue of demarcating the Lebanon-Syria border is "currently postponed and not at the top of the agenda," but stressed that all matters of mutual interest are "on the table for discussion."

He said immediate issues, such as disputes involving cargo trucks, can at times overshadow long-term strategic files.

Lebanon and Syria agreed Thursday to adopt a "temporary" mechanism to regulate truck movement between the two countries for seven days to address congestion at the border.

The agreement followed a decision issued on Feb. 6 by Syria’s General Authority for Land and Sea Ports banning non-Syrian trucks from entering the country through land crossings. The decision required trucks to unload cargo at customs yards and transfer it to Syrian vehicles, causing dozens of trucks to pile up at the Masnaa border crossing.

Israel and regional security

Asked about Türkiye's warm ties with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Mitri said: "Both countries are sister nations to Lebanon, and I hope this rapprochement will have a positive impact on the entire region."

He added: "We are waiting to see the fruits of this rapprochement, and then, we can talk about the details. For now, I am speaking in principle about the general option the two countries have chosen."

Mitri said he follows annual public opinion surveys in Arab and other regional countries and noted that "for more than 10 years, despite political fluctuations, around 80% of participants in these surveys consider Israel a threat to regional security."

That perception "is firmly rooted in public consciousness and is reinforced by Israeli practices in Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine," which strengthens concerns that Israel’s air superiority poses a threat to regional security, he explained.

Mitri also noted that "the stance toward Israel and the shared perception of its danger may be one of the motivations behind rapprochement among countries in the region."

He stressed: "Despite all that is said about entering the Israeli era, Israel, with its air and intelligence superiority and its use of artificial intelligence and other capabilities, is capable of destruction, but it is not capable of ruling our region or shaping a new Middle East."

Since a ceasefire with the Lebanese group Hezbollah took effect in late November 2024, Israel has committed near-daily violations in Lebanon that have killed hundreds of people.

Israel began its offensive against Lebanon in October 2023 and escalated it into a full-scale war in September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and wounding about 17,000.

* Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul.