A Lebanese labour minister nominated by Hezbollah has taken part in high-level talks in Damascus for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad — but a Lebanese lawmaker who follows the file closely says the visit must not be mistaken for a political thaw between Hezbollah and Syria's new leadership. Labour Minister Mohammad Haidar joined a government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri that met Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani at Tishreen Palace in Damascus on Monday, November 2, The Media Line reported, with talks centred on the return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon and on bilateral cooperation.

Source: The Media Line

In an exclusive interview with The Media Line, Waddah Sadek, a member of parliament for the Beirut II district, said Haidar was participating in his official capacity as a government minister, not as a representative of Hezbollah. Sadek described Haidar as a technocrat nominated by the group and rejected suggestions that his presence carried a broader political message. Haidar made the same distinction on arriving at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, describing his visit as “ministerial work that has nothing to do with any partisan background.”

Source: The Media Line via EuropeSays

Who met whom — and what was on the table

Alongside Mitri and Haidar, the Lebanese delegation included Social Affairs Minister Hanin Sayed, Education and Higher Education Minister Rima Karami, and a technical delegation from Lebanon's Interior Ministry. On the Syrian side, the meeting was attended by Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Marwan al-Halabi, Education Minister Mohammad Abdulrahman Turko, and Social Affairs and Labour Minister Hind Kabawat. According to Syria's official news agency, SANA, discussions focused on the return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon, administrative and educational matters, and the work of joint committees set up to address outstanding bilateral issues; the broader agenda also covered labour-market regulation and border cooperation.

Why Haidar's seat at the table is sensitive

Haidar's presence was politically sensitive because Hezbollah fought alongside Assad's forces during Syria's civil war, intervening militarily in 2013 to support a government opposed by many of the figures who later came to power in Damascus. Assad's overthrow in December 2024 ended the longstanding alliance between his government and the Iran-backed Lebanese group, leaving Hezbollah's relationship with Syria's new authorities deeply strained. In August, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem expressed willingness to establish direct contact with the new Syrian leadership, saying the group had no objection to an official meeting when circumstances permitted. Sadek acknowledged those remarks but argued Hezbollah's conduct has not shown a meaningful change in its approach toward Syria.

Sadek accused the group of continuing activities that undermine relations with Damascus, including alleged weapons smuggling and the operation of Hezbollah-linked cells inside Syrian territory. Similar allegations have been made by Syrian authorities: on September 29, Syrian security officials announced the arrest of three people in southern Daraa province whom they accused of belonging to a Hezbollah-affiliated cell preparing rocket attacks. Hezbollah denied any connection to the suspects and said it had no military or security presence in Syria. The Media Line said it could not independently verify Sadek's allegations, and they are reported here as allegations.

The contested secret-talks report in the background

Questions about contacts between Hezbollah and Syria's new leadership have already produced directly conflicting accounts. On October 1, Reuters reported, citing six sources briefed on the matter, that Syrian government officials and Hezbollah representatives had met secretly in Turkiye in September to reduce tensions, with Syrian representatives raising concerns about weapons smuggling and alleged Hezbollah cells. Both the Syrian and Turkish governments denied that the meeting had taken place. The alleged meeting therefore remains contested — reported by Reuters on anonymous sourcing, denied on the record by Damascus and Ankara — and is not treated in this report as an established fact.

State-to-state ties are improving, Sadek says — Hezbollah is the obstacle

Sadek drew a sharp line between the two relationships. He said official ties between Beirut and Damascus have improved considerably since President Joseph Aoun took office and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed his government in 2025: the two governments have exchanged official visits, pursued agreements on longstanding disputes, and security coordination is already functioning well. Monday's talks, he said, continued that diplomatic process rather than beginning a new phase. What remains unresolved, in his account, is Hezbollah itself: Sadek maintained that the group's continued alignment with Iranian policies and its possession of weapons outside Lebanese state authority remain major obstacles to broader political and security stability.

Refugees: the issue that will decide whether the diplomacy works

The return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon remains one of the most pressing challenges facing both governments. Sadek cautioned against treating returns as a simple administrative decision, saying sustainable returns depend on conditions inside Syria — habitable housing, essential services, employment and the reconstruction of communities damaged by years of war. The issue has featured prominently in recent bilateral contacts: on October 19, Sayed and her Syrian counterpart, Kabawat, met in Damascus to discuss refugee returns, child protection and social-welfare cooperation. Sadek expressed confidence that Syria's current authorities are working to create conditions for displaced citizens to return, while acknowledging that reconstruction and restoring basic services will take considerable time and sustained cooperation.

Lebanon's prime minister has separately warned Hezbollah not to drag Lebanon into a new war as US–Iran tensions rise. Read: Salam warns Hezbollah over a new war

What happens next

Watch the joint committees: whether the Damascus talks produce dated steps on refugee returns, border management and older bilateral agreements will show whether the improving state-to-state track delivers results. For Hezbollah and Damascus, the test Sadek set is behavioural — any verified end to smuggling and armed cells would change the picture; until then, officials on both sides are likely to keep stressing, as Haidar did at the border, that a minister's visit is government business, not a reconciliation.