Hezbollah leader says no objection to meeting with Syrian authorities

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Tuesday that he had no objection to meeting with Syria's leadership, the first time he has publicly expressed such a stance.

"There is no impediment to a public meeting between Hezbollah and the Syrian leadership at a time considered appropriate by both sides," Qassem said in a televised address, emphasising "the importance and necessity of positive, fraternal, cooperative relations".

For years, Hezbollah fought in support of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in the country's civil war, justifying the act to maintain Syria as a key supply route to Lebanon from Iran before the totalitarian regime was toppled in December 2024.

Recently, US President Donald Trump has been suggesting that Syria should take on Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying President Ahmed Al-Sharaa "would be more precise than Israel" in confronting the group and would do so without "knocking down buildings".

But, Syria's government under Sharaa routinely said they have no interest in military entering Lebanon and have signalled their own willingness to talk with Hezbollah.

Qassem further said, during the same televised address, that direct negotiations between Lebanon and Israel would bring "nothing but shame, humiliation, and successive compromises" for Lebanon, ahead of new talks in Rome.

Qassem added that Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun "has not acted as an arbiter, nor as a unifying figure, but has become biased and divisive, which is incompatible with his role and with Lebanon's strength".