Lebanon and Syria have agreed to prepare a joint framework governing the extradition of former Syrian regime figures who fled to Lebanon following the collapse of the government of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, according to a senior Lebanese official familiar with recent talks between the two countries.

The issue was discussed during Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s official visit to Damascus over the weekend, where he headed a ministerial delegation for talks aimed at strengthening bilateral ties and addressing security-related files between Beirut and Damascus.

The official told Al Arabiya and Al Hadath that both sides agreed that any extradition process would take place through a formal agreement to be jointly prepared by the justice and interior ministries in Lebanon and Syria.

The arrangement is intended to establish a legal and administrative mechanism for handling the file of former Syrian military and security officials currently residing in Lebanon.

“The goal is to close the file of former regime remnants once and for all,” the source said, adding that Lebanon would not allow its territory to be used as a platform for activities targeting the Syrian government.

The official also confirmed that a number of former Syrian officers remain in Lebanon after entering through illegal border crossings in the Bekaa Valley and northern Lebanon during the final stages of Assad’s rule.

According to the source, many of them are currently located in eastern and northern Lebanon, particularly in areas where allies of the former Syrian regime maintain influence, including Alawite-majority districts and areas where Hezbollah holds sway.

In remarks to Al Arabiya on Sunday, Salam said most senior figures from Assad’s regime are no longer in Lebanon and are believed to be in Russia and other countries. However, he acknowledged that some remain in Lebanon, stressing that Beirut would prevent them from organizing political or military activities against Damascus from Lebanese territory.

Legal experts said the proposed agreement would likely build on the bilateral judicial cooperation treaty signed by Lebanon and Syria in 1951, which regulates extradition procedures, judicial coordination, and the exchange of legal information between the two countries.

Lebanese lawyer and human rights activist Diala Shehadeh said any extradition process would require formal judicial requests submitted through the justice ministries of both countries and based on legal proceedings initiated by Syrian authorities.

She noted that Lebanese law generally prohibits extradition in cases involving political offenses or charges linked to freedom of expression rather than criminal acts.

Earlier this year, Syrian sources told Reuters that Damascus had provided Lebanon with a list of 200 former Syrian officers believed to have fled into Lebanese territory after the fall of the Assad government.

The disclosure raised concerns at the time over the possibility that former regime networks could attempt to reorganize from Lebanon, particularly in regions where Hezbollah and other Syrian allies maintain influence.