October 3, 2026
Official and intelligence accounts conflicted regarding the fact that a secret meeting was held between representatives of the Syrian government and the Lebanese Hezbollah on Turkish soil, following a categorical official denial issued by the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in exchange for confirmations reported by Reuters from multiple sources.
In details, the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – in statements to the “Syria Now” platform – completely denied the reports circulating about holding any meetings between Syrian officials and representatives of the party in Türkiye.
This denial came in response to a report published by Reuters, in which it relied on six informed sources, which stated that the two parties held direct and unprecedented talks in Turkey during the past month, with the aim of containing the escalating tension between the two sides.
The sources, which included two Syrian officials, an American official, and a senior Lebanese security official close to Hezbollah, in addition to other sources who preferred not to reveal their identities due to the sensitivity of the issue, explained that the secret meeting was held at the invitation and sponsorship of the Turkish security and intelligence services, and brought together officials from the Syrian intelligence and foreign ministry with representatives of the party.
It is noteworthy that Reuters indicated in its previous report that the Turkish Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the US State Department, as well as the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, did not respond to its inquiries regarding the meeting, while Hezbollah’s media office refused to comment, before the Syrian Foreign Ministry settled the controversy with its official denial via the “Syria Now” platform.
