Syria, Hezbollah held secret talks in Turkey

Representatives of the Syrian government and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have held face-to-face talks in Turkey to try to calm tensions between them, according to six sources briefed on the first known meeting between the longtime foes.

The Syrian officials and the Iran-aligned group met secretly at least once last month, the sources - who include two Syrian officials, a US official and a senior Lebanese security source close to Hezbollah - told Reuters.

Hezbollah for years dispatched fighters to Syria to defend former President Bashar al-Assad's government during the country's civil war.

After Assad was ousted in late 2024 in a lightning rebel offensive, tensions rose between Syria's new government and Hezbollah - with Damascus accusing the group of transferring arms through Syria, and the United States encouraging Syria's military to send forces into Lebanon to fight Hezbollah.

The six sources said Hezbollah representatives and Syrian intelligence and foreign ministry officials had taken part in the meeting last month at the invitation of Turkish security and intelligence agencies in an effort to de-escalate.

All the sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the meeting.

Syria's foreign ministry, Turkey's foreign and defense ministries and the US State Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' questions about the meeting. Hezbollah's media office declined to comment.

After publication, the Syrian government's English-language account on X denied such a meeting had taken place, saying "these claims are false."

The meeting focused on resolving points of tension between the two parties and went well, according to the US official, the Syrian officials and the Lebanese source.