Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa said Sunday that a "deep Syrian wound" remains over Hezbollah's past involvement in Syria, while calling for a political solution to Lebanon's crisis.
"There is a major Syrian wound that is still alive to this day, and Hezbollah is part of it," Sharaa said in an interview with Al Mashhad TV in Damascus.
Despite those grievances, he said Syria would be prepared to engage with the Lebanese group "if doing so benefited both nations."
"We will sit at the same table with Hezbollah if it serves the interests of Syria and Lebanon," he said.
Hezbollah publicly entered the Syrian civil war in 2013 in support of former President Bashar al-Assad's regime. As its confrontation with Israel intensified in 2024, the group withdrew a large portion of its fighters back to Lebanon.
The subsequent lightning offensive by Syrian opposition forces and the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024 effectively brought Hezbollah's military presence in Syria to an end.
Sharaa stressed that the Syrian and Lebanese peoples had both suffered under the previous Syrian regime, while lamenting that "some Lebanese parties remain prisoners of the past."
He argued that the solution in Lebanon cannot come through war or the bombardment of cities, warning that renewed conflict there "would have significant consequences for Syria."
"The situation in Lebanon cannot withstand further polarization," he said, adding that there remains a major opportunity to halt the war and reach a political consensus to overcome the crisis.
The Syrian president said he had presented "a different approach" to French President Emmanuel Macron for ending the war in Lebanon, noting that US President Donald Trump had expressed discomfort with the current situation in Lebanon, although his remarks had been "misunderstood."
Earlier Sunday, Trump expressed disappointment with Israel's handling of Hezbollah. Speaking to Fox News, he said Israel has been unable to "put Hezbollah away."
"I am disappointed Israel cannot put Hezbollah away," he added.
The US president suggested that Syria's leadership could be more effective in dealing with the group. "I am close to giving this to Syria," Trump said in terms of dealing with Hezbollah.
On June 16, Trump said he suggested to Israel to let Syria "take care of Hezbollah" in Lebanon.
Sharaa said Syria's vision is based on strengthening the Lebanese state and its institutions while seeking a solution acceptable to all parties.
He also argued that Hezbollah "should find its place within Lebanon" and that Lebanese national interests should prevail over any other considerations, saying the group has "encroached on the Lebanese state's authority over decisions of war and peace."
More broadly, he said any country with armed forces operating outside state control faces obstacles to development and institution-building.
Calling for reconciliation, Sharaa urged a review of past events and efforts to protect Lebanon's Shiite community rather than "gambling with it," adding that the loss of any component of Lebanese society would be "a loss for the entire region."
He concluded that Syria's priority is economic development and that it "has no intention" of abandoning that path.
"We have enough courage that, if we wanted to enter a war, we would say so openly."
