Lebanon and Syria hold third committee meeting: will diplomatic hurdles be cleared?

Report by Ghida Fayad, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian 

The third round of meetings between the Lebanese and Syrian committees, formed in early September, was held on Wednesday in Beirut. Progress in diplomatic relations remains slow, but work continues to resolve outstanding issues, including the cases of missing Lebanese in Syria, Syrian detainees in Lebanon, border demarcation, and the fight against smuggling.

As the Syrian delegation crossed the Masnaa border crossing, families of Islamist detainees in Lebanon were waiting to speak with them, but the delegation continued on its route without stopping.

According to LBCI, the Syrian delegation consisted of two committees: a judicial committee from the Syrian Ministry of Justice and a committee handling missing persons. Several key points were reportedly agreed upon.

The Lebanese side emphasized that there is a shared political will to remove obstacles preventing a real breakthrough in Lebanese-Syrian relations, nearly ten months after the change in Syrian leadership.

Also on the agenda was the Lebanese-Syrian border issue, in which the joint security committee has reportedly made significant progress, paving the way for formal border demarcation.

This Beirut meeting will be followed by a fourth round scheduled in Damascus. The question remains: will all diplomatic obstacles between Lebanon and Syria be resolved soon?