Damascus [Syria], January 11 : Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, met Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, and the two leaders discussed ways to enable masses of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to head home during his first official visit to Syria to meet with the new government, the New York Times reported.
The Lebanese prime minister's office informed that Mikati met in the Syrian capital of Damascus with Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa on Saturday afternoon.
https://x.com/Najib_Mikati/status/1878102088695079064
In a post on X, Mikati wrote, "We affirm that the historical ties, good neighborliness, and close, equal relations between the two peoples that unite Lebanon and Syria are the basis that governs the nature of existing or required cooperation between the two countries at all levels."
Al-Shara leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamist group that spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled the decades-long rule of Bashar al-Assad, the former Syrian president, last month, as per the New York Times.
During the news conference in Damascus urged for a quick resolution to the Syrian refugee crisis
Mikati said both countries should quickly resolve the matter of the more than one million refugees that Lebanon took in as a result of the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. While some have since returned, many others still remain in Lebanon.
"It has become urgent today -- in the interest of both countries -- to deal with this issue as quickly as possible and return the displaced to a Syria that is thankfully recovering," said Mikati, adding that he believed Mr. al-Shara supported the effort.
Al-Shara said the two leaders had discussed "outstanding issues" including border security, but did not make any comment about the return of refugees.
He further stated that the committees would be set up to examine how to sort out various problems, but he urged Syrians to lower their expectations for a speedy overhaul of the impoverished country.
"We have a lot of problems in Syria," al-Shara said. "We won't be able to solve them all at once. We have to divide them up and look for solutions to each one."
Mikati's visit to Damascus came after the election of Joseph Aoun as Lebanon's president this week after two years in which the office lay vacant. Aoun will soon begin consultations on nominating a new prime minister next week.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha recently held talks with Al-Sharaa, his counterpart Asaad Hassan al-Shaybani and other officials in Damascus and expressed willingness to restore relations with Syria, Al Jazeera reported.
Further, Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani expressed his country's desire for "strategic partnerships" with Ukraine, highlighting the shared experiences and suffering of both nations.
Notably, the meeting marks one of the most consequential visits since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8, last year.