On Saturday, June 13, President Ahmed al-Sharaa denied what he described as "rumors" about his country's interference in Lebanese affairs, stressing that Damascus and Beirut agreed to postpone the detailed dialogue on the demarcation of the borders, and to focus on more urgent files, most notably economic linkages and development support.

President Al-Shara's remarks came during his meeting with a delegation of notables and notables of the Damascus countryside in the capital, Damascus, in a speech broadcast by the state news agency "SANA", and said that Lebanon is going through a very sensitive phase due to the repercussions of the Israeli war, and that this reality is reflected on Syria as well as on the Lebanese interior.

President Al-Sharaa explained that the file of the demarcation of the border between the two countries has been pending since 1946 and is one of the most complex files, pointing out that the Lebanese side has raised it on several occasions, but Damascus believes that there are other priorities that must be dealt with first.

He pointed out that Syrian-Lebanese relations have witnessed "unsound foundations" in previous stages, and that there is a "Lebanese wound" linked to Syrian interventions, as opposed to a "Syrian wound" resulting from Hizbullah's interventions in Syria, which makes opening the border file an inappropriate step now.

President Al-Sharaa pointed out that additional complications are related to the issue of the Shab'a Farms, part of which is still under Israeli occupation, with a Syrian-Lebanese dispute over its affiliation, considering that it is "illogical" to go into this discussion before liberating it.

"There are also many objective problems in the Syrian-Lebanese border file, including the overlap of villages and areas, and the possibility that opening this file now will lead to new conflicts between the two countries, at a time when we are in dire need of calm rather than opening additional gates of conflict," said President Al-Shara.

Al-Shara added, "Therefore, I do not think that there are any solutions close to the border file at the current stage, this file needs a broader explanation, more detail, and calmer conditions."

"The priority today is for Lebanon to take advantage of the new Syrian situation in a way that helps to promote stability, develop economic connectivity, support development, and contribute to some of the reforms it needs, in which Syria can provide important services and facilities," he stressed.

He added: "Today we have more than one million and 400 thousand displaced Syrians inside Lebanon, in a country whose population does not exceed about 4 million, and this in itself represents a big problem for which there is no clear solution horizon yet."

"At the same time, some people are still spreading rumors of Syrian intervention in Lebanon, which is not true," he concluded, adding, "What we always propose is to stop the war, strengthen state institutions, strengthen economic linkages, and calm the situation in Lebanon as much as possible."

Trump talks about Syria's role in Lebanon

In an interview with NBC News on Sunday , U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility that Syria could play a role in facilitating more "precise" strikes against Hezbollah, saying, "I would like to see Lebanon enjoy a better life, and I would like to see a more precise surgical attack on Hezbollah." I think it has to be more precise, and we can help them with that, or we can recommend Syria to help."

The legacy of the French Mandate continues to complicate the Syrian-Lebanese border

The French Mandate is the main starting point for all border complexities between Syria and Lebanon, as the administrative borders were drawn at the time according to French political and geographical considerations, without being fixed by final international agreements after the independence of the two countries.

The roots of the problem began with the declaration of "Greater Lebanon" in 1920, when the French Mandate annexed districts and towns that were administratively under the governorate of Damascus, such as the Bekaa, Baalbek, Hasbaya, Rashaya, and northern Lebanon, relying on natural features such as mountain tops and riverbeds to determine the borders, without placing concrete markers or precise coordinate maps on the ground.

Over time, the overlap of agricultural and tribal property has further complicated it, as Lebanese territory remained deep inside Syria and vice versa, while local communities used to move freely across borders for grazing and farming purposes, bringing the actual border closer to invisible lines.

The hills of Kfar Shuba and the Shebaa farms are inherited points of contention

Today, inherited points of contention emerge, most notably the Shebaa farms and the hills of Kfar Shuba, which Beirut considers Lebanese territory, while they appear on old historical maps as Syrian territory, and the Israeli occupation of them in 1967 further complicated their legal status.

Areas such as Tufail and Bekaa Tefrin are a model of geographical and real estate overlap that has repeatedly led to administrative and security conflicts, in addition to the maritime border file linked to the gas squares in the northern Mediterranean, where technical visions differ about the starting point of the sea line from the southern mouth of the Great River.

In 2008, Syria and Lebanon announced the formation of a joint committee to demarcate the border, but progress has remained slow due to political and security tensions, and with the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, most official efforts have stalled, although there are indications that some channels of communication are continuing.

After the new Syrian administration took office, following the overthrow of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024, the issue of border demarcation with Lebanon came to the fore again.