Overview
- Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Sunday he is willing to sit down with Hezbollah if talks serve Lebanon’s and Syria’s interests and help stabilise Lebanon.
- Al-Sharaa explicitly denied any plan to deploy Syrian forces to Lebanon, saying Damascus seeks economic channels and political solutions rather than military action.
- The comments came after President Trump publicly suggested at the G7 that Syria could ‘handle’ Hezbollah, a proposal that Damascus says was misread as a call for troop deployment.
- Regional actors have pushed back on the idea of Syrian military involvement, with media reports that Turkey warned Damascus against action that could reshape the balance of power.
- The offer to negotiate is tied to a wider Syrian plan to restore economic links, strengthen Lebanese institutions and pursue security measures only with Lebanese agreement, reflecting the fraught history between Syria, Hezbollah and Lebanon.