SYRIANNEWS — broadcast
20261102 113000 UTC
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[00:00:00] The problem of displaced people in
[00:00:03] against innocent people are there in Lebanon today can be solved in light of the greater and more severe problems
[00:00:05] issue must be reconsidered, Lebanon is suffering from, perhaps the most prominent of which are the
[00:00:08] Israeli incursions in southern Lebanon and
[00:00:12] what casts its shadow on the Lebanese economy
[00:00:15] from recurring problems that burden
[00:00:19] Lebanon.
[00:00:33] and talking about border
[00:00:36] Syria is far from this demarcation, can borders be demarcated in the current
[00:00:40] Syrian-Lebanese situation and what the
[00:00:43] two countries are experiencing from a legacy and inheritance,
[00:00:47] whether from the era of the Assad regime in Syria or even from
[00:00:51] criminal act occurred on the control of Hezbollah militia and its monopoly
[00:00:54] over Lebanese sovereign files in the
[00:00:57] rational political discourse that lays the foundation from the defunct regime who past? Can we talk about
[00:01:01] common interests, border demarcation or just border for a stage of relations based on control and establishing a future
[00:01:03] stage in which borders will be fully demarcated?
[00:01:06] First, I
[00:01:10] would like to refer to what we have already discussed.
[00:01:13] Yes,
[00:01:15] the first
[00:01:18] what is the solution and way to solve this thing is the high-level delegation that came to
[00:01:21] Damascus now consists of four
[00:01:24] ministries, first the Ministry of Interior, and then the Ministry of Labor, Education, and Social
[00:01:28] Affairs, and this means. And this means
[00:01:31] an embodiment
[00:01:33] of the agreement that took place between Syria and Lebanon
[00:01:37] in early June of this year regarding the establishment of
[00:01:40] with the Syrian revolution or their sympathy with a high committee to consult on important issues and files,
[00:01:48] families whose children are still our observation of slowness in and at the forefront of them is the security file, and then border demarcation,
[00:01:50] detained in this judgment, detention, which helps to its care, whether in improve the security
[00:01:51] or crime. situation and security stability and the stability
[00:01:54] of security institutions, whether in Syria or in Lebanon, and I particularly
[00:01:58] mention Lebanon. Our institutions, in fact,
[00:02:02] although they are rudimentary and although they are primary and although they
[00:02:06] have not been around for two years, they have reached
[00:02:09] a level where they can exercise
[00:02:13] So it pressures these their institutional role through the legislative, judicial, and
[00:02:16] executive authorities. Returning to border demarcation, border
[00:02:19] demarcation ends all problems on the
[00:02:22] borders and reduces the issue of arms smuggling,
[00:02:26] human trafficking, and drug smuggling,
[00:02:29] in addition to continuous attacks
[00:02:32] from cross-border
[00:02:36] crime, whether
[00:02:38] on displaced persons to force them to criminal offenses or political offenses or terrorist offenses. Yes,
[00:02:42] the difficulty of border demarcation is actually
[00:02:46] a complex and difficult geographical
[00:02:49] difficulty, in addition to the presence
[00:02:53] and therefore this of Hezbollah militias in some areas, in addition to the presence
[00:02:59] phase will be better state's authority and control over of other entities on the Lebanese borders. We
[00:03:02] can as a passing thought
[00:03:06] demarcate the borders
[00:03:10] in a way that is a treatment rather than a complete solution. In this
[00:03:13] context, Major General, do we
[00:03:17] need today to demarcate the borders in a preliminary
[00:03:20] way as you suggest, or do we need to control the borders on
[00:03:25] many types of both sides, from the Syrian side and from the Lebanese side,
[00:03:28] in order to end all these problems that you mentioned earlier
[00:03:32] and which may be troubling for both countries, led by arms
[00:03:35] smuggling, drug smuggling, human trafficking,
[00:03:39] and so on? Of course, border
[00:03:43] control falls on the shoulders of
[00:03:46] both the Lebanese
[00:03:49] how will this rapprochement in and Syrian parties, and there is security and intelligence cooperation, and there
[00:03:52] is cooperation in fact to delineate the borders in this
[00:03:54] regard, supervising
[00:03:57] crossings, eliminating illegal crossings
[00:04:00] that are
[00:04:02] Syrians present on a refuge for bandits, militias, and smugglers, in addition
[00:04:07] detainees present in to the issue of tightening control
[00:04:09] over some areas such as Akkar
[00:04:12] and Bekaa through
[00:04:15] the world. Here in the existing towers
[00:04:16] institutions, strive and equipping them with thermal cameras
[00:04:19] and remote sensors and drones, and so on, in addition to coordinating
[00:04:23] joint patrols between Syria and Lebanon. So, border
[00:04:26] demarcation is a priority that is indispensable,
[00:04:30] a priority that I think the delegation
[00:04:34] will now have as its first
[00:04:36] consultation, the issue of border demarcation. Border
[00:04:39] demarcation means sovereignty, and Syria strives
[00:04:43] hard for
[00:04:45] organizations in the and security institutions to Lebanon to have its own sovereignty, especially governmental
[00:04:48] sovereignty, not militia sovereignty. So, border
[00:04:52] countries, to strive to embrace this demarcation helps to
[00:04:53] in governance and an advancement
[00:04:53] two years, during two years with a large extent in restoring the issue
[00:04:55] of the re-centralization
[00:04:58] of true Lebanese rule.
[00:05:00] The correct path regarding the issue of eliminating
[00:05:03] militias
[00:05:06] Major General, in this and eliminating uncontrolled weapons in Beirut.
[00:05:09] So, border demarcation is an indispensable priority. Syria
[00:05:12] can contribute to it through its intelligence and through
[00:05:16] also institutional relations between
[00:05:19] the Ministry of Justice and the Ministries of Justice between the two countries and the Ministries
[00:05:22] of Interior between the two countries in the event of
[00:05:26] forming a special committee for border demarcation along
[00:05:29] the 375 km or what it can
[00:05:33] demarcate through its relations
[00:05:36] with its
[00:05:39] institutional relations, through its legal relations, through
[00:05:42] the agreements concluded between Syria and Lebanon, whether
[00:05:46] old or before
[00:05:49] liberation, or the agreements that took place after
[00:05:52] liberation. Yes. Okay, Major General, also
[00:05:56] among the important files at the top
[00:05:58] of the discussions, which are addressed by both the Syrian
[00:06:02] state and the Lebanese state constantly,
[00:06:05] is the issue of displaced people and also the issue
[00:06:08] of detainees in Lebanese prisons. I will start with the displaced. Is
[00:06:12] there a possibility today to solve the issue of displaced people, whether in
[00:06:16] Syria or even in Lebanon, in light of what
[00:06:20] both countries are suffering from? In Syria, there is destruction and devastation
[00:06:23] of infrastructure from the era of the defunct Assad regime, and also
[00:06:27] in Lebanon, there is no comprehensive
[00:06:31] program for voluntary
[00:06:32] return.
[00:06:35] Exactly. You mentioned two files:
[00:06:38] the file of displaced persons
[00:06:41] and the file of detainees,
[00:06:45] convicts, and wanted persons.
[00:06:48] Syria has striven hard and quickly
[00:06:51] after liberation to solve these
[00:06:54] problems, despite
[00:06:57] dealing with them by the Lebanese government
[00:07:00] due to problems it is experiencing internally.
[00:07:04] But what I want to say is that the file
[00:07:07] of detainees has started to unravel somewhat.
[00:07:10] How? Lebanon
[00:07:13] started to hand over
[00:07:16] to Syria, according to the agreements
[00:07:20] that took place in 2025, whether in February or
[00:07:23] June, it started to hand over
[00:07:26] the detainees, the convicts,
[00:07:29] and those whose trials are underway to the Syrians
[00:07:32] slowly and in a piecemeal
[00:07:35] manner. We are talking about
[00:07:38] two types, Major General. We are talking about two types
[00:07:41] of detainees. There are political detainees who were
[00:07:45] arrested during the Assad regime's control of
[00:07:49] part of Syrian territory and were arrested
[00:07:52] and detained for political charges,
[00:07:54] and most of these
[00:07:58] charges were incorrect, precisely because of the Assad
[00:08:01] regime's or Hezbollah militia's ties to the Assad regime or similar reasons.
[00:08:05] However, there is also a group of detainees who are criminal
[00:08:08] detainees, who have committed crimes and
[00:08:12] similar offenses in the Lebanese state. How can these two
[00:08:16] files be truly separated,
[00:08:20] first, and second, so that they are not
[00:08:22] exploited more during
[00:08:26] the coming
[00:08:28] period? As you mentioned,
[00:08:32] this file is somewhat complex. There are
[00:08:37] detainees, whether they are political
[00:08:41] or involved in criminal incidents, or
[00:08:44] even politically
[00:08:47] wanted persons. So, the security
[00:08:50] file divides these categories
[00:08:54] into three: a file
[00:08:56] for convicts, a file for detainees,
[00:09:00] and a file for criminals. There
[00:09:02] is extradition for criminals. There are
[00:09:06] some officers or some personalities
[00:09:09] wanted for arrest through warrants,
[00:09:15] Lebanese territory. This is one file. There are
[00:09:19] Lebanese prisons overcrowded with Syrians
[00:09:23] who have not yet been tried, whose trials have not
[00:09:25] begun. Syria requests them
[00:09:28] to try them in its territory or in its courts or within
[00:09:31] its constitutional judicial institutions. And there are also
[00:09:35] those who have served their sentences
[00:09:38] and Syria wants to receive them so that
[00:09:41] they can complete
[00:09:44] their sentences in Syrian prisons and review
[00:09:48] their files again. So, these files,
[00:09:50] Syria is actually striving
[00:09:52] hard through its judicial
[00:09:57] express that through
[00:10:00] relations, agreements, and protocols that took place during
[00:10:06] the Lebanese government.
[00:10:08] And the Lebanese government is actually somewhat
[00:10:13] flexible in these
[00:10:16] matters and difficult in some other
[00:10:19] matters, especially regarding
[00:10:22] the issue of Hezbollah and the elements they have
[00:10:26] and under their
[00:10:28] protection. Yes, as for the issue
[00:10:31] of detainees, detainees are of two types:
[00:10:35] political detainees and criminal detainees.
[00:10:39] The political issue falls under the
[00:10:42] 1951 convention. Syria can, through
[00:10:45] memoranda, through
[00:10:48] video tapes, and through
[00:10:50] some clarifications, submit them to
[00:10:54] the Lebanese Ministry of Justice and can return them through
[00:10:58] the 1951 convention legally, judicially,
[00:11:02] and officially. As for the other detainees,
[00:11:05] the criminals, and so on,
[00:11:08] Lebanon prefers that their trials
[00:11:10] continue or that Lebanon
[00:11:13] tries them since the
[00:11:16] Lebanese territory.
[00:11:19] The 1951 agreement also
[00:11:22] stipulated in some of its provisions
[00:11:25] something to this effect, the issue of litigation and completing trials
[00:11:29] for crimes, misdemeanors, and felonies in both the Lebanese
[00:11:33] and Syrian states, as it applies to both
[00:11:36] citizens of both countries. However, here another important question arises:
[00:11:40] Is the priority, pending the extradition of political detainees
[00:11:43] to Syria, the detainees in Lebanon,
[00:11:45] is the priority here to improve the situation of detainees in Lebanese
[00:11:49] detention centers, or is the priority to
[00:11:52] expedite their extradition to the Syrian
[00:11:55] state?
[00:11:58] Actually,
[00:12:01] there is a disparity between Lebanese
[00:12:04] and Syrian opinion. The new Syria seeks
[00:12:08] to ensure that the Syrian citizen is under
[00:12:16] As for Lebanon,
[00:12:19] Lebanon, unfortunately,
[00:12:21] is under the burden of
[00:12:25] some other institutions regarding
[00:12:28] Syrians, so that it can assert its personality
[00:12:31] before them, so that it can gain some
[00:12:35] benefits from them.
[00:12:38] Syrian detainees in our prisons,
[00:12:41] in our detention centers, unfortunately. But Syria, from
[00:12:44] its judicial and political
[00:12:47] side, strives
[00:12:50] hard to recover these Syrians,
[00:12:54] whether detainees, wanted persons, or convicts.
[00:12:57] And returning to the displaced, the displaced are a special
[00:13:00] file, and a truly complex
[00:13:04] and arduous
[00:13:06] file. And the Lebanese government must strive hard to
[00:13:10] restore administrative affairs regarding
[00:13:13] Syrian displaced persons.
[00:13:16] Their identities, their registration certificates,
[00:13:19] their family books, their health status,
[00:13:23] their security status. All of this requires effort.
[00:13:26] Yes, at this point, the point of efforts, Major General,
[00:13:30] the file of displaced persons for both countries, does it not need international support,
[00:13:33] both for Syria to rebuild infrastructure to ensure a dignified,
[00:13:37] safe, and voluntary return for the displaced in
[00:13:40] Lebanon, and also support for the Lebanese state
[00:13:43] to establish genuine and comprehensive programs
[00:13:47] to encourage and accelerate voluntary,
[00:13:50] safe, and dignified return for Syrians
[00:13:53] there? Exactly. The
[00:13:57] return of displaced people from Lebanon to Syria is actually
[00:14:01] a relief for Syria, a relief for Lebanon, and a relief
[00:14:04] for the United Nations and all countries of the world. Therefore,
[00:14:08] the international community, whether through international
[00:14:12] organizations or even individual countries, must
[00:14:15] support this displacement, support the return of displaced people to
[00:14:19] Syria through health
[00:14:22] supervision, professional
[00:14:25] supervision, material aid,
[00:14:29] social and logistical
[00:14:32] aid. Countries can, through their relief,
[00:14:36] social, and cultural
[00:14:41] to embrace this displacement and the return of these
[00:14:44] thousands to their home countries. Syria is a warm
[00:14:48] embrace for them now. A person only seeks their homeland.
[00:14:51] The presence of displaced people in Lebanon is a pressure on
[00:14:55] Lebanon, a pressure on Syria, and a pressure on the international
[00:14:58] community. Therefore, Lebanon must appeal,
[00:15:01] as it is currently the most difficult and the first party in
[00:15:05] the issue of displaced people. It must strive hard with relief
[00:15:10] world, with international parties, and it has excellent diplomatic
[00:15:13] relations with European
[00:15:17] displacement and manage
[00:15:20] it in an orderly, civilized,
[00:15:23] and appropriate manner.
[00:15:25] The displaced or the host country or the
[00:15:28] depository. Yes. Okay,
[00:15:31] regard, in your opinion, what is the fate of the remnants of the
[00:15:35] defunct regime who are losing Hezbollah's cover
[00:15:38] day by day with every legitimacy and strength that the
[00:15:42] Lebanese state gains more and also
[00:15:46] with the institutionalization of
[00:15:49] Syrian-Lebanese rapprochement and the re-establishment
[00:15:52] of relations?
[00:15:53] Do
[00:15:57] you mean the remnants present in Lebanon?
[00:15:59] Yes. Yes, I was talking about the remnants
[00:16:03] of the defunct regime present in Lebanon. What do you think their fate will be with
[00:16:14] what is escalating day by day, and also in light of Hezbollah's cover being exposed
[00:16:18] for them to increase
[00:16:20] the Lebanese state's power and control over Lebanon
[00:16:24] and Hezbollah's weakening?
[00:16:27] Mr. Mustafa, the slogan of the Ministry of Interior in Syria
[00:16:31] is that no criminal
[00:16:34] shed Syrian blood will escape. Whether
[00:16:38] in Syria or outside
[00:16:41] Syria, it strives hard
[00:16:43] and diligently
[00:16:45] to arrest them and bring them to
[00:16:49] justice within the framework of transitional
[00:16:52] justice. Yes. In fact,
[00:16:56] with every passing moment, the noose tightens around these remnants
[00:16:59] present in Syria. I appeal to these remnants
[00:17:02] who may not
[00:17:05] have been involved in many issues to
[00:17:08] surrender themselves, to present themselves
[00:17:12] to the Syrian government, to the new Syrian administration, to present themselves
[00:17:15] to the reconciliation efforts or to the transitional
[00:17:19] justice and take their rights. As for
[00:17:21] the criminals, war criminals, or criminals who have committed
[00:17:25] crimes against humanity, the noose is tightening
[00:17:29] around them day by day, and
[00:17:32] the Lebanese government will,
[00:17:36] after this meeting,
[00:17:38] the diplomatic meetings and security meetings within its
[00:17:41] three institutions, in my opinion, the Lebanese
[00:17:45] government will do what the international
[00:17:48] community dictates, arrest them and hand them
[00:17:52] over to the Syrian security to receive
[00:17:55] their punishment or receive their just retribution within the Syrian
[00:18:13] channel. A high-level delegation from the Lebanese state
[00:18:16] is visiting Damascus today, headed by
[00:18:19] Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Tarek Mitri
[00:18:22] and ministerial figures, and also a delegation from
[00:18:26] the Ministry of Interior. How do you view the Syrian-Lebanese
[00:18:29] rapprochement at the present time
[00:18:32] and the restoration of the Lebanese
[00:18:36] Lebanese territory?
[00:18:38] And Hezbollah's distancing from the scene
[00:18:42] day by day. Yes, my greetings to you, Mustafa, to your guest
[00:18:45] and the viewers. There is no doubt that this visit comes within
[00:18:49] the framework of mutual coordination and mutual visits
[00:18:52] between the Syrian government and the Lebanese government,
[00:18:56] and it comes in light of the development of Syrian-Lebanese
[00:18:58] relations, and it is taking
[00:19:01] a direction that is not just relations between two neighboring
[00:19:05] or brotherly countries, but the development is more than
[00:19:08] that, that this relationship has become a strategic relationship. Today,
[00:19:11] for the first time in the history of the Lebanese state,
[00:19:15] there is a friendly and respectful Syrian
[00:19:19] relationship with the Lebanese state and the institutions of the Lebanese state,
[00:19:22] and this is what the Syrian leadership and President Ahmed Al-Shara emphasized from the beginning
[00:19:26] of Syria's liberation, that the relationship today with Lebanon is
[00:19:29] a relationship between the Syrian state with its institutions and the Lebanese
[00:19:33] state with its institutions, and not as it always was during
[00:19:36] the era of tutelage. In the days of the defunct regime, when it
[00:19:40] allied with forces and parties at the expense of parties and at
[00:19:43] the expense of Lebanon as a state and a people, and we saw what
[00:19:47] it did to it, what the Syrian regime did and what it did
[00:19:50] to Lebanon from massacres and other
[00:19:53] things through interventions in Lebanese internal affairs. Today, the Syrian-Lebanese
[00:19:57] relationship is a strategic relationship, a relationship
[00:20:01] based on mutual respect, on common
[00:20:04] interests, on respecting the sovereignty and independence
[00:20:08] of each other, leading
[00:20:11] to what we saw, the visit of Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani to
[00:20:14] Lebanon in the past period and the size of the popular
[00:20:18] and official reception, as well as the visits made by many
[00:20:21] Lebanese delegations, headed by Prime Minister
[00:20:24] Nawaf Salam. The visit being made by the ministerial delegation today to
[00:20:27] Syria is, I believe,
[00:20:31] a strategic station
[00:20:34] in building balanced relations and friendly
[00:20:37] relations,
[00:20:41] in which we lay the foundation for a future that holds good for Lebanon
[00:20:44] and the people of Lebanon, and Syria and the people of Syria,
[00:20:48] and a relationship away from tutelage, away from
[00:20:51] interventions, away from past conflicts, and turning a
[00:20:54] new page, and this is what
[00:20:57] the Syrian leadership has adopted since the liberation of Syria
[00:21:00] and its assumption of managing the country's affairs through
[00:21:04] zeroing problems, through balanced policies, through
[00:21:07] rational discourse, through
[00:21:10] friendly messages and
[00:21:13] positive messages, I dare say,
[00:21:16] sent by the Syrian leadership and President Ahmed Al-Shara to
[00:21:20] Lebanon and to the countries of the region. We saw in the past period
[00:21:24] the visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister to Syria. What the Syrian
[00:21:28] leadership and foreign policy are doing
[00:21:31] is undoubtedly earning respect and appreciation not only from the
[00:21:35] Syrian people, but also from the countries of the region and the countries
[00:21:38] of the world that saw in the Syrian state's discourse and the directions of President
[00:21:42] Ahmed Al-Shara a realistic,
[00:21:48] respect, based on
[00:21:51] based on building
[00:21:54] a better future for the Syrian people and the peoples
[00:21:57] of the region. Yes, Mr. Abdul Karim,
[00:22:01] among the important files that you discussed with Major General
[00:22:04] is the file of displaced persons. In your opinion,
[00:22:08] important file for both
[00:22:10] countries?
[00:22:12] Yes, I think that
[00:22:15] perhaps the most
[00:22:17] thorny files is the file of displaced persons. We must not forget
[00:22:21] also the file of Syrian prisoners in
[00:22:23] Roumieh prison in Lebanon, who were also detained on
[00:22:27] the basis of their affiliation
[00:22:30] the Syrian revolution or their support for the Syrian revolution. This is also
[00:22:34] an important file and a demand for many
[00:22:40] prison, and we know exactly how the
[00:22:43] trials and the judiciary were previously managed
[00:22:46] by Hezbollah and the security that was managed by Lebanese Hezbollah
[00:22:50] officials. This is also a file that must be, and there is no doubt that it is on
[00:22:53] the agenda of discussions between the Syrian
[00:22:55] and Lebanese governments, and today Syria
[00:22:59] is providing all measures and facilities for the return of
[00:23:02] Syrians, and there are more than 1.8
[00:23:05] million Syrians who have returned during the past period from
[00:23:09] Lebanon and from neighboring countries and elsewhere to Syria,
[00:23:12] and it is trying to provide all possible facilities for the return
[00:23:16] of all displaced persons and all refugees in neighboring
[00:23:19] countries to Syria, and today there is
[00:23:23] no, as there was in the past, no Lebanese or Lebanese government pressure
[00:23:28] return. However, Lebanon also takes into account
[00:23:32] the situation in Syria in terms of economic conditions and reconstruction
[00:23:35] and development and
[00:23:38] mending relations and rebuilding the country completely,
[00:23:43] file will be resolved within the framework of discussion
[00:23:46] and negotiation between the two countries and between the two governments,
[00:23:49] and within providing facilities for Syrians to
[00:23:52] return as well. There are many Syrian workers
[00:23:56] in Lebanon who play a major role in
[00:24:00] public and private institutions in
[00:24:02] Lebanon, and most of those who are in Lebanon
[00:24:06] today have their homes, houses, and villages
[00:24:09] semi-destroyed or completely destroyed, and therefore
[00:24:12] the reconstruction phase has not yet begun
[00:24:16] for them to find a suitable environment for return.
[00:24:20] Likewise, the Lebanese government takes this aspect into account and has not pressured
[00:24:23] them, but I believe that all these files are on the discussion
[00:24:27] table within the framework of mutual understanding between
[00:24:30] the two countries. Yes, I return to you, Major General, and in reference to the words of my guest,
[00:24:34] Mr. Abdul Karim Al-Omar, Major General, in your opinion,
[00:24:39] Syrian-Lebanese relations reflect on Syrians
[00:24:42] in Lebanon, especially since, as you know,
[00:24:45] the great importance of foreign relations is to achieve
[00:24:48] the welfare of peoples.
[00:24:53] Not only in Lebanon, but in all countries of the world.
[00:24:57] Yes, the new Syrian diplomatic policy has
[00:25:00] citizens all over
[00:25:05] Germany, the Syrian citizen has become another
[00:25:08] personality.
[00:25:11] In France, in Britain, in any country in the world,
[00:25:14] especially in Lebanon, when
[00:25:18] His Excellency President Ahmed Al-Shara and his wisdom
[00:25:21] respected and appreciated human beings
[00:25:25] and deleted more than
[00:25:27] two million reports and computer records
[00:25:31] against these innocent citizens
[00:25:34] merely because they wanted dignity or wanted to express
[00:25:38] their opinion. This is all, in fact, an advancement
[00:25:43] in expression. So I return
[00:25:47] to the issue of displaced persons. Syria has
[00:25:50] a major role in the issue of returning displaced persons through,
[00:25:54] as we discussed earlier, the issue
[00:25:58] of reports, deleting reports. How many reports are there
[00:26:01] against Syrians? How many accusations
[00:26:05] computers? This
[00:26:08] and then there are detainees held by Hezbollah,
[00:26:12] Hezbollah militias, among Syrians who were
[00:26:14] against it. In addition, there are some family
[00:26:18] disputes that Lebanon did not rule on,
[00:26:20] but rather detained them unjustly
[00:26:23] and oppressively. There are many files that Syria can
[00:26:27] now calmly, through diplomatic channels, and through
[00:26:30] the high-level delegation present in
[00:26:34] Syria, discuss all of them, and I do not believe at all that
[00:26:39] approach. All these
[00:26:42] files
[00:26:44] will be raised in order of priority: the security
[00:26:48] file, the displaced persons file, the file of extraditing criminals,
[00:26:52] the file of extraditing detainees, reconstruction, border
[00:26:55] demarcation, the issue of legitimate crossings, the issue of illegal
[00:26:59] crossings, in addition to unifying
[00:27:04] in terms of unifying goods so that there is no smuggling between Syria
[00:27:08] and Lebanon, and Lebanon and Syria, in addition to
[00:27:11] tightening border security
[00:27:15] against human trafficking, organ trafficking,
[00:27:18] and arms and drugs. There are many complex and difficult files,
[00:27:22] but Syria strives hard, calmly,
[00:27:26] and diplomatically. When Lebanon regains its sovereignty,
[00:27:30] when Syria regains, excuse me,
[00:27:33] its institutions and governs within
[00:27:36] its institutions and moves away from the pressures of
[00:27:39] some militias in its territory, I believe that all
[00:27:43] these solutions will fall into one category, which is the category
[00:27:47] of Lebanese sovereignty, and then Syrian sovereignty. Yes, I will turn to you with a final
[00:27:51] question, Mr. Abdul Karim, in your opinion, where are Syrian-Lebanese
[00:27:55] relations
[00:27:55] heading?
[00:28:06] are heading towards
[00:28:08] its best, as I mentioned, the visits
[00:28:12] and meetings that took place between the Syrian leadership and the Lebanese government after
[00:28:16] the liberation,
[00:28:18] we see the extent of Lebanese optimism for the new Syria,
[00:28:22] meaning through the statements of many
[00:28:25] leaders of blocs, parties, and political forces in Lebanon, and similarly,
[00:28:28] what Lebanese people in general are talking about regarding a new
[00:28:32] Syria and the Syrian political discourse towards
[00:28:36] Lebanon, considering that the new Syria
[00:28:39] considers Lebanon a sovereign state with its institutions, its borders,
[00:28:43] and its government, unlike the previous situation in which
[00:28:46] the defunct Syrian regime, which
[00:28:50] considered Lebanon merely
[00:28:52] a colony, today the situation
[00:28:55] is completely different. Therefore, I believe that the next
[00:29:01] on the political, economic, and security levels. Securing
[00:29:05] the Syrian-Lebanese borders, combating smuggling, terrorism,
[00:29:09] and the remnants of the defunct regime who are in Lebanon, there will probably be Syrian-Lebanese
[00:29:12] security cooperation in
[00:29:16] their arrest or preventing them from harming Syria from
[00:29:19] inside Lebanon or carrying out acts that affect Syrian security from inside
[00:29:23] Lebanon. There are many levels
[00:29:26] that the Syrian and Lebanese governments will work on
[00:29:29] within the framework of building distinguished relations.
[00:29:33] Especially since Lebanon is the brother
[00:29:36] and neighbor, as well as the western gateway to Syria. Yes.
[00:29:39] So I believe that the Syrian-Lebanese relationship will be very
[00:30:34] relations stand at a new
[00:30:36] stage whose title is rearranging
[00:30:39] priorities and opening a different page of cooperation
[00:30:43] and coordination after years of tensions
[00:30:46] and challenges that left their impact on various
[00:30:50] common issues. Politically, issues of
[00:30:53] borders, refugees, transit, and security coordination are at the
[00:30:56] forefront of discussions, while economically,