Syrian presidential media adviser Ahmed Muwaffaq Zaidan on Friday denied reports that contacts had taken place between the Syrian government and Hezbollah, stressing that the reports were entirely untrue and that Damascus’s approach to Lebanon is based on dealing with and supporting Lebanese state institutions.
Zaidan denies direct talks with Hezbollah
Speaking in a media interview, Zaidan said Syria had previously paid the price for rapprochement with groups operating outside the Lebanese state, adding: “We previously paid the price for rapprochement with militias outside the Lebanese state.” He accused parties he said had an interest in doing so of circulating false reports about contact between Damascus and Hezbollah. The Syrian presidential adviser explained his country’s position on relations with Lebanon, saying: “Our approach in Lebanon is to support the state only.”
He stressed that “the era of militias is over and has no place”, asserting that any Syrian negotiations with the Lebanese side “are with the state, not a militia”. Zaidan’s comments came in response to reports published on Thursday claiming that representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanese Hezbollah had held direct talks in Türkiye aimed at easing tensions between the two sides.
The reports described the alleged meeting as the first known gathering of its kind between two parties whose relationship, they said, had long been marked by hostility. After the reports were published, the Syrian government’s official English-language account on X denied that the meeting had taken place, saying in response to the reports: “These are false claims.” This was consistent with the denial later issued by the presidential media adviser.
Announcement of cell’s detention and Hezbollah denial
The developments followed Syria’s announcement on Tuesday that it had detained a cell it said was affiliated with Hezbollah, accusing it of preparing to launch rockets in the south of the country.
The following day, Hezbollah denied involvement in the incident, saying it had no presence whatsoever inside Syrian territory and denying participation in any security or military activity there.
