Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 11, 2025
From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 11, 2025
Lebanese PM visits Damascus in first such visit since Syrian civil war erupted in 2011
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), shows Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati (L) shaking hands with Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa before their meeting in Damascus on January 11, 2025. (SANA/AFP)
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrives in Damascus, on the first such visit since before civil war broke out in Syria in 2011.
His visit comes as the neighboring countries seek better relations after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime strongman Bashar al-Assad last month.
Mikati tells a news conference with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus that the two countries will work together to secure the land borders and address the delineation of land and sea borders.
The visit comes days after Lebanese lawmakers elected the country’s army chief Joseph Aoun as president, ending a more than two-year vacancy.
