Syria’s Sharaa, Lebanese PM discuss border demarcation weeks after ceasefire

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CAIRO (Reuters) – Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa and visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam discussed land and sea border demarcation and security coordination on Monday, weeks after the two countries agreed on a ceasefire that ended cross-border clashes.

“This visit will open a new page in the course of relations between the two countries on the basis of mutual respect and restoration of trust and good neighborliness,” Salam said in a statement released by his office.

The mountainous frontier has been a flashpoint in the months since Islamist rebels toppled Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Tehran and Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, and installed their own institutions and army.

The latest round of clashes was in March when Syrian troops exchanged fire with Lebanese soldiers and armed groups in northeast Lebanon. Syria accused Hezbollah of crossing into Syrian territory and kidnapping and killing three members of Syria’s army.

Hezbollah, however, denied any involvement. A Lebanese security source told Reuters the three Syrian soldiers had crossed into Lebanon first and were killed by armed members of a tribe who feared their town was under attack.

The two countries’ delegations also discussed the fate of missing and detained Lebanese people in Syria, an issue that came under the spotlight after the toppling of Assad, which led to the opening of prisons and the discovery of collective graves in Syria.

Lebanon says more than 700 Lebanese were detained in Syrian prisons due to the Syrian influence in Lebanon during the Lebanese civil war from 1975 to 1990. 

For much of the Assad family’s five decades in power, Syria held significant influence over Lebanon, maintaining a military presence there for 29 years until 2005 despite widespread opposition from many Lebanese.

The Lebanese and Syrian leaders also agreed to cooperate in the economic field and agreed on creating a ministerial committee to follow up with issues of common interest, the Lebanese prime minister’s office said.

(Reporting by Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Sharon Singleton)