Syria denies officials held 'secret' talks with Hezbollah in Turkiye
Damascus has rejected reports that its officials secretly met with Lebanon's Hezbollah in Turkiye. Six sources told Reuters the reported meeting was aimed at easing tensions between the two sides.
The Syrian government has publicly denied reports that its representatives held a secret meeting in Turkiye with members of Lebanon's Hezbollah movement. The claim was reported by Reuters, which cited six sources in Syria, the United States and Lebanon.
Sources point to de-escalation effort
According to those sources, the reported meeting was intended to calm tensions between Damascus and Hezbollah. Relations between Syria and Hezbollah have grown complicated in recent years, given the group's close ties to Iran and its regional influence, alongside a broader political realignment in Syria following its change of leadership.
The Reuters sources were not publicly named, and no detailed information was provided about the exact timing, location within Turkiye, or identities of those said to be involved. Syrian authorities, for their part, rejected the claim that such a secret meeting had taken place, without offering further comment on the substance of the report.
No independent confirmation yet
There is currently no independent confirmation from either Syria or Hezbollah regarding what, if anything, occurred in Turkiye. The question of possible dialogue between the two sides is sensitive given wider regional tensions and the roles played by Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
For now, the report rests solely on the accounts of Reuters' sources, with no fully reconciled official version of events available from either side.
