Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – Syrian Foreign Minister Assad Al-Sheibani began a visit to Beirut on Friday, the first official visit since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024, with both countries affirming their determination to open a new chapter in their relations.

Al-Sheibani told reporters after meeting his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Rijii, that the visit, which he described as “historic,” “reflects Syria’s new approach towards Lebanon.”

He confirmed that the current Syrian authorities “respect Lebanon’s sovereignty” and the principle of “non-interference in its internal affairs.”

During Assad’s rule, Syria imposed political tutelage over Lebanon for three decades and was repeatedly accused of assassinating Lebanese officials and controlling Lebanese decisions amid the presence of its military forces there.

Al-Sheibani added, “We want to overcome the obstacles of the past with Lebanon.”

Al-Sheibani is accompanied by a delegation including Justice Minister Mazhar Al-Wais. One of the main topics discussed is the issue of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon, whom Damascus demands to be repatriated.

A judicial official told AFP that “about 2,250 Syrians are detained in Lebanese prisons, constituting about one-third of the total prisoners,” adding that “around 700 meet the conditions for extradition but this requires a new agreement between the two countries.”

Among the Syrian prisoners in Lebanon, hundreds are detained on charges of “terrorism” and affiliation with jihadist groups and armed factions, referred to the military court. Others are accused of attacks against the Lebanese army in border areas during the height of the bloody Syrian conflict that erupted after the authorities suppressed anti-government protests in 2011.

The two sides are also discussing demarcating the 330-kilometer border between them and combating smuggling across it.

After Bashar al-Assad’s fall, supply routes for Hezbollah, loyal to Iran and an ally of the former Syrian authorities, were cut off, and attempts to smuggle weapons into Lebanon were thwarted, according to Syrian authorities.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam visited Syria in April and met the new Syrian president, Ahmad Al-Shara, who promised that Damascus would no longer exert “negative influence” over Lebanon.

There are about 1.3 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, most displaced from Syria after the civil war.

The United Nations reported that about 294,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their country since Assad’s fall.