HTS leader in Syria pledges not to intervene in Lebanon

During a meeting with Druze leader Walid Jumblatt in Lebanon, Mr. Sharaa declared: “Syria will no longer interfere negatively in Lebanon. We respect Lebanon’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence in its decisions and its security stability.”

It was the first time Walid Jumblatt, a leading Lebanese political figure, had met with Sharaa since HTS and allied opposition groups launched a lightning offensive last month, seizing Damascus on December 8 and ousting President Bashar al-Assad.

Mr Sharaa pledged that Syria would maintain a “balanced distance” from all factions in Lebanon, while acknowledging that Syria had been a “source of fear and anxiety” for the Lebanese people.

Walid Jumblatt led a delegation of lawmakers from his parliamentary bloc and religious leaders from the Druze community to Damascus on December 22. He met with Sharaa at the presidential palace.

HTS is considered a terrorist organization by many Western countries, including the United States, and has recently changed its stance, pledging to protect religious and ethnic minorities in Syria.

Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976 to end the civil war that had begun the year before. However, instead of resolving the conflict, Syria became the military and political power that dominated all aspects of life in Lebanon.

Syrian forces only withdrew from Lebanon in 2005, after intense international pressure following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, a case widely believed to have been linked to Damascus and its ally Hezbollah.

In a development related to the situation in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with the leader of HTS on the same day, December 22.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz and Charge d'Affaires at the Damascus Embassy Burhan Koroglu also attended the meeting. Esaad Hassan Shaibani, the new foreign minister of the Syrian interim government, also met with the Turkish delegation.

Earlier, the top US diplomat for the Middle East arrived in Damascus on December 20, according to the US State Department. He met with officials from HTS to discuss the need for a comprehensive political process in Syria.

The meeting marked the first time US officials had formally engaged with HTS, just days after Mr Assad fled Syria for Russia as opposition forces took full control of Damascus.