The Syrian government under Ahmad al-Sharaa denied Thursday evening a report that senior officials from the new Syrian administration met with Hezbollah leaders, stating that "these claims are false. No such meeting took place."
Reuters reported earlier Thursday that Syrian government officials held a meeting last month with senior Hezbollah figures in Turkey, aimed at reducing tensions between the Syrian government and the terror organization. According to the report, progress was made in the talks, which marked the first face-to-face discussions between the sides.
The report further stated that Damascus provided guarantees to Hezbollah that the Syrian army would not intervene militarily in Lebanon with the aim of disarming the terror organization. In return, the Syrians demanded that Hezbollah stop smuggling weapons across the Lebanon-Syria border and dismantle all terror cells operating in the country.
The report comes after Syrian authorities announced earlier this week that they had thwarted a terror cell operating near the border with Israel, accusing the operatives of being Hezbollah activists.
