Why did a Lebanese Forces delegation visit Damascus?

The latest visit by a Lebanese Forces delegation to Damascus carries political implications given the historically strained relationship between the Lebanese Forces and the former Syrian regime.

Lebanese Forces sources told An-Nahar newspaper that the visit was "normal," asking rhetorically: "Would it be surprising to see a Lebanese Forces MP in Cairo or Riyadh?"

They explained that "Damascus has returned to being the capital of a state friendly to Lebanon, and the relationship is now viewed as one between two states." They asserted that "relations between the two countries are normal, and the problems of the past, including the imprisonment of individuals and others, have ended.”

The party considers this a "natural occurrence from now on" and Syria "is no longer the country we all knew sixty years ago," the sources said.

"It has become a state whose priority is the Syrian people, with no regional or expansionist ambitions, and it is putting its own house in order, just as Lebanon is putting its own house in order," the sources added.