Lebanese-Syrian relations are bilateral diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria . The length of the state border between the countries is 403 km [1] .
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History
Lebanon and Syria are part of the historical territory of Great Syria . In 1920, under the French mandate, Great Lebanon was formed, which was located in approximately the same territory as modern Lebanon. Due to the common past, there have always been strong ties between Lebanon and Syria. After the end of World War II, Lebanon and Syria became independent states, but retained a single monetary and customs union. At the political level, the stronger Syrian state was sometimes perceived by the Lebanese authorities with distrust.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Syria suffered from internal problems and did not participate in the political life of Lebanon. However, some sources attribute to Syria a prominent role in organizing riots in Lebanon in 1958. In the late 1960s, increased activity by Palestinian partisans in southern Lebanon helped create tensions with Syria. In 1973, the Lebanese army began to participate in hostilities against Palestinian partisans, and Syria closed the border in protest. In 1975, a civil war broke out in Lebanon and Syria took an active part in it. Syrian President Hafez al-Assad feared the victory of the radical forces in Lebanon, as this would lead to an aggravation of the political situation in Syria, which already faced in these years with the uprising of Muslim fundamentalists.
In the early stages of the Lebanese Civil War, Syria acted as a mediator, organizing several ceasefire regimes. In February 1976, Syria helped form a package of political reforms that would give Muslims more power in Lebanon, but the initiative failed. When diplomatic initiatives failed, Syria invaded Lebanon. In May 1976, Syria played an important role in the election of Ilyas Sarkis as president. By January 1977, about 27,000 Syrian troops were in Lebanon. In the 1980s, Syria was the dominant external player in Lebanon, which controlled most of the country.
On April 30, 2005, Syrian troops left Lebanon, putting an end to the thirty-year occupation of this country [2] . In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria, which had an extremely negative impact on Lebanon and led to the destabilization of the political situation in this country [3] .
Notes
- ↑ The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency
- ↑ RFI - Liban - Retrait syrien total fin avril au plus tard
- ↑ Davies, Wyre Syrian conflict spills over border into Lebanon (February 17, 2012). Date of treatment April 8, 2012.