Overview
- Syria’s Asaad al-Shibani made the first high-profile visit to Lebanon since Assad’s ouster, holding talks and meeting Lebanon’s top leadership.
- Both sides said the Lebanese–Syrian Higher Council was suspended, with future interactions to run through formal diplomatic channels.
- Damascus said it agreed with Beirut to transfer Syrian inmates not convicted of murder, a step tied to resolving the roughly 2,000 Syrians held in Lebanese prisons, many without trial.
- Al-Shibani’s team included Syria’s justice minister, intelligence chief and assistant interior minister, underscoring a focus on justice files, security coordination and border control.
- Priority tracks include locating Lebanese missing in Syria and facilitating refugee returns, with Lebanon hosting about 1.5 million Syrians and UNHCR reporting roughly 850,000 returns since December.