Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa welcomes Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam during an official meeting at the People’s Palace in Damascus, underscoring efforts to strengthen bilateral relations. Photo credit/ SANASyria’s relations with its neighbors are a critical source of domestic stability and a cornerstone for forging a new foreign policy, one capable of reshaping a national image long tarnished by the Assad regime. For decades, that image was defined by power politics, the use or threat of violence, and relentless pursuit of regional and global hegemony.
Lebanon stands at the forefront of these neighbors. Rebuilding ties with Beirut is vital to safeguarding the security and stability of a Syrian state emerging from dictatorship and ruin. As Syria navigates the complex task of reconstructing both its internal order and its foreign relations, it must confront a heavy historical legacy: more than half a century of turbulent bilateral ties and at least four regional wars.
A Cross-Border Role
Recent days have sparked intense debate over Syria’s potential role in Syria and Lebanon triggered by President Trump’s controversial remarks regarding a Syrian military intervention. Trump suggested such a move could halt Hezbollah’s military operations in southern Lebanon and ultimately disarm the group under UN Security Council Resolution 1701.While the Syrian president explicitly distanced Damascus from this scenario, no official authority, including the presidency, has directly addressed Trump’s frequent statements and tweets. This silence hints at possible security cooperation between Syria and the United States over southern Lebanon. Such an arrangement could directly or indirectly involve the Lebanese government and Israel, especially amid regional shifts like the U.S.-Iran agreement on principles and the upcoming expiration of the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon on December 31,2026.
What does Lebanon lack that Syria can provide? Posing the question in reverse, however, is far more critical. Today, the new Syria cannot offer Lebanon what it itself desperately needs. Any role carrying the taint of “interference” will open the gates of hell.
Syria’s new leadership must maintain a safe distance from regional entanglements, particularly with its neighbors, adopting a strict policy of non-intervention. This is by no means an endorsement of a “Syria First” isolationism, nor does it apply to the Palestinian cause, which remains a distinct issue tied to the Israeli occupation. Rather, it is vital that Damascus avoids being dragged into foreign adventures that could destabilize Syria, even when external pressure to intervene is framed as a stabilizing measure. This aligns with the UN Assistant Special Envoy’s recent report, which commended “the Syrian authorities’ ongoing efforts to insulate Syria from wider regional conflicts”.
“The new Syria cannot build its future by inheriting the region’s conflicts. Its first responsibility is to protect its own fragile stability.”
Abdulrahman Matar
Fractured Trust
Lebanon has teetered on the brink of instability since its 1975 civil war. Despite interludes of relative calm, three core drivers continually fuel its security, social, and political upheavals. First is the proliferation of weapons outside state control, with all the toxic complexities this thorny issue entails. Second is the ongoing Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon and the destabilizing impact of its persistent incursions, even during the interim between the 2006 and 2024 wars. Third is the unabashed interference of regional and international actors, routinely bypassing state authorities and institutions.
The Syrian Iranian axis has been among the most destructive forces reshaping Lebanon’s political landscape, deepening sectarian fractures and rendering the state a mere hollow shell in decision-making and domestic governance. This paralysis has directly triggered consecutive economic collapses and chronic insecurity. Under the Assad regime, Syria ruled Lebanon outright. What began as a limited 1976 Arab League mandate to halt the civil war quickly morphed into a brutal military occupation. Damascus seized total control, fighting everyone, shifting alliances erratically, and waging a vicious campaign against both the Palestinian presence and Lebanese sovereignty, until its humiliating withdrawal in 2005 following the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
This painful legacy remains an open wound for all Lebanese. The systematic assassination of public figures who championed sovereignty and independence from Assad’s grip cannot be forgotten. These historical scars paved the way for today’s Lebanon, where Hezbollah, backed unequivocally by Iran and strategically anchored by Syria, dictates the nation’s fate, a collusion that culminated in a shared bloody crackdown against the Syrian people themselves.
Any contemporary chatter about a renewed Syrian role in Lebanon will inevitably trigger these ghosts of the past. It threatens to resurrect the Assad-era playbook of repression, autocracy, and boundless corruption. No one will be able to contain the ensuing chaos, lawlessness, and vitriolic hate speech, a dangerous regression that neither Syrians nor Lebanese can afford.
“Any return to the politics of interference would revive old wounds instead of building a new relationship between Syria and Lebanon.”
Abdulrahman Matar
Syria: A Fragile Transition
What both Lebanon and Syria truly need is mutual recognition and a strict adherence to international law. Their ties must be redefined by good-neighborly relations based on full respect between two sovereign, equal states. This relationship must transcend the political and social grievances that have historically acted as tripwires, sparking crises that allowed the logic of force, domination, and interference to prevail.
Syria’s genuine support for Lebanon must, first and foremost, manifest in securing its borders and permanently blocking the use of Syrian territory as a pipeline for smuggling weapons and illicit funds. Damascus must ensure it ceases to be a source of regional instability and security breaches. Safeguarding the border serves Syria’s national interest, but it becomes a powerful, productive asset when pursued in tandem with Beirut. Only then can both nations secure their shared borders, laying a solid foundation for a state-to-state dialogue with the Lebanese government, free from any other calculations.
“The strongest support Syria can offer Lebanon begins with secure borders, mutual respect, and cooperation between two sovereign states.”
Abdulrahman Matar
Domestically, Syria remains deeply unstable; its current peace is fragile and relative. Public demands and grievances loom large over the new leadership’s plans and agendas. Getting entangled in Lebanon today risks fracturing this delicate domestic cohesion, eroding public trust, and derailing the critical priorities of rebuilding a new state.
The new Syrian authorities face a mountain of urgent internal crises that cannot wait constitutional legislation, transitional justice, economic development, and basic security, including the unresolved Golan Heights issue. These monumental tasks demand unwavering, laser-sharp focus. Damascus cannot afford to be dragged into foreign adventures that offer zero benefit to the Syrian people, who are currently engaged in a historic wave of legitimate protests that can neither be ignored nor bypassed.
The path to regional stability begins with two sovereign states choosing cooperation over intervention.
