Türkiye hosts Syria-Hezbollah talks in push to stabilise region: report

Türkiye has once again positioned itself as a key stakeholder in regional dialogue and in promoting stability and peace, as it reportedly hosted talks between Syrian government officials and the Lebanese group Hezbollah last month.Representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanese group Hezbollah held face-to-face talks inTürkiye to try to calm tensions between them, according to aReutersreport quoting six sources briefed on the first known meeting since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024.Three of the sources said it was Türkiye that pushed for the meeting, keen to see de-escalation between Damascus and Hezbollah.Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Türkiye has positioned itself as a facilitator of regional dialogue, aiming to boost stability across the region.Contact between the Syrian government and Hezbollah via Türkiye began about two months ago, a Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah said.The September meeting, held at an undisclosed location in Türkiye, brought together Hezbollah representatives and Syrian intelligence and foreign ministry officials.The Syrian officials and Hezbollah met secretly at least once last month, the sources, who include two Syrian officials, a US official and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah, toldReuters.According to the sources, the talks went well, with both sides agreeing they held no hostility towards one another.Syria assured Hezbollah it would not intervene militarily in Lebanon, while Syrian officials asked Hezbollah to help stop cross-border smuggling and dismantle its remaining terror cells in southern Syria.Türkiye's role comes as tensions between Damascus and Hezbollah have simmered since Assad's ouster in late 2024, with Syria's new government accusing the group of moving arms through its territory.Hezbollah publicly entered Syria’s civil war in 2013 in support of Bashar al Assad's dictatorship.

Syria has come a long way underPresident Ahmed al Sharaa in terms of security, stability and ushering in a new era of peace and inclusivity.Both a Syrian official and the Lebanese source said the two sides made significant progress on security issues but stopped short of finalising an agreement, with no announcement planned.In June, Syrian President Al Sharaa said that Syria would be prepared to engage with Hezbollah “if doing so benefited bothnations".In July, Syrian Foreign MinisterAsaad Hassan al Shaibanisaid Damascus was open to meeting the group.A month later, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said in a televised address that the group had no objection to meeting Syria's leadership.