Mikati in Damascus to meet Syria's de facto leader Al-Sharaa in first visit by Lebanese PM since 2010

AFP , Saturday 11 Jan 2025

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrived in Damascus Saturday in the first such visit since before civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, an AFP journalist reported.

Syria Lebanon
This handout picture provided by the Lebanese Prime Minister's Press Office shows Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati (L) speaking with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa during their meeting in Damascus. AFP

 

The Lebanese prime minister’s office said the visit came at the invitation of Syria's de facto leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa, with whom he held talks on Saturday. 

Mikati is accompanied by Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib and three security chiefs in Lebanon.

Since Al-Sharaa assumed power in Damascus, the two countries have expressed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations.

Following the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in 2011, major divisions have emerged among political forces in Lebanon over relations with Damascus.

Mikati's visit comes as the neighbouring countries seek better relations after Islamist-led militants toppled Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad last month.

It also comes days after Lebanese lawmakers elected the country's army chief, Joseph Aoun, as president, ending a more than two-year vacancy.


This aerial view shows traffic around the New Clock Tower along Quwatli Street in the centre of the city of Homs in west-central Syria. AFP

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