Waddah Sadek tells The Media Line that official Lebanese-Syrian relations are improving, but Hezbollah’s weapons and alleged security activities remain obstacles to rapprochement with Damascus
[DAMASCUS] Lebanese Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar, nominated by Hezbollah, joined high-level talks in Damascus on Monday, November 2, as part of a government delegation discussing Syrian refugee returns and bilateral cooperation. It was the first visit by a Hezbollah-nominated minister since the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad in December 2024, but Lebanese lawmaker Waddah Sadek told The Media Line that Haidar’s participation should not be mistaken for a political thaw between Hezbollah and Syria’s new leadership.
In an exclusive interview with The Media Line, Sadek, who represents the Beirut II electoral district in Lebanon’s Parliament, said Haidar was participating in his official capacity as a government minister, not as a representative of Hezbollah.
Sadek described Haidar as a technocrat nominated by the group and rejected suggestions that his presence carried a broader political message.
Haidar made a similar distinction upon arriving at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, describing his visit as “ministerial work that has nothing to do with any partisan background.”
The Lebanese delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at Tishreen Palace in Damascus. It included Social Affairs Minister Hanin Sayed, Education and Higher Education Minister Rima Karami, and a technical delegation from Lebanon’s Interior Ministry.
On the Syrian side, the meeting was attended by Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Marwan al-Halabi, Education Minister Mohammad Abdulrahman Turko, and Social Affairs and Labor Minister Hind Kabawat.
According to Syria’s official news agency, SANA, discussions focused on the return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon, administrative and educational matters, and the work of joint committees established to address outstanding bilateral issues. The broader agenda also included labor-market regulation and border cooperation.
Haidar’s presence was politically sensitive because Hezbollah fought alongside Assad’s forces during Syria’s civil war, intervening militarily in 2013 to support a government opposed by many of the figures who subsequently came to power in Damascus.
Assad’s overthrow in December 2024 ended the longstanding alliance between his government and the Iran-backed Lebanese group, leaving Hezbollah’s relationship with Syria’s new authorities deeply strained.
Despite that history, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem expressed willingness in August to establish direct contact with the new Syrian leadership, saying the group had no objection to an official meeting when circumstances permitted.
Sadek acknowledged those remarks but argued that Hezbollah’s conduct had not demonstrated a meaningful change in its approach toward Syria.
He accused the group of continuing activities that undermine relations with Damascus, including alleged weapons smuggling and the operation of Hezbollah-linked cells inside Syrian territory.
Similar allegations have been made by Syrian authorities. On September 29, Syrian security officials announced the arrest of three people in southern Daraa province whom they accused of belonging to a Hezbollah-affiliated cell preparing rocket attacks.
Hezbollah denied any connection to the suspects and said it had no military or security presence in Syria. The Media Line could not independently verify Sadek’s allegations.
Questions about contacts between Hezbollah and Syria’s new leadership have also generated conflicting accounts.
On October 1, Reuters reported, citing six sources briefed on the matter, that Syrian government officials and Hezbollah representatives had met secretly in Turkey in September in an effort to reduce tensions. According to the report, Syrian representatives raised concerns about weapons smuggling and alleged Hezbollah cells operating in Syria.
Both the Syrian and Turkish governments denied that the meeting had taken place.
Sadek maintained that Hezbollah’s continued alignment with Iranian policies and its possession of weapons outside Lebanese state authority remained major obstacles to improving its relationship with Syria.
He distinguished those tensions from the official relationship between Beirut and Damascus, which he said had improved considerably since President Joseph Aoun took office and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed his government in 2025.
According to Sadek, the two governments have exchanged official visits and pursued agreements to address longstanding disputes. He described Monday’s talks as a continuation of that diplomatic process rather than the beginning of a new phase.
Security coordination between the countries was already functioning well, he said, although border management, older bilateral agreements, and the status of Syrian refugees in Lebanon still required further work.
The refugee issue remains one of the most pressing challenges facing both governments.
Sadek cautioned against treating the return of displaced Syrians as a simple administrative decision, emphasizing that sustainable returns depended on conditions inside Syria.
He said returning refugees would need habitable housing, access to essential services, employment opportunities, and the reconstruction of communities damaged during years of war.
The issue has featured prominently in recent bilateral contacts. On October 19, Sayed and her Syrian counterpart, Kabawat, met in Damascus to discuss refugee returns, child protection, and cooperation on social welfare services.
Sadek expressed confidence that Syria’s current authorities were working to create conditions for displaced citizens to return, while acknowledging that reconstruction and the restoration of basic services would require considerable time and sustained cooperation.
Although he described relations between the Lebanese and Syrian governments as strong and improving, Sadek maintained that Hezbollah’s continued possession of weapons outside Lebanese state control remained a major obstacle to broader political and security stability.
