Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani's second official visit to Lebanon carried a significance that went well beyond the formal meetings on his schedule.
Unlike his first trip to Beirut following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, this visit included a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the leader of the Amal Movement and Hezbollah's closest political ally.
The meeting came after a series of controversial statements by US President Donald Trump suggesting that Syria could be asked to "take care of" Hezbollah, and amid growing pressure on Damascus to assume a role in confronting the Lebanese group.
For Beirut, the visit offered additional reassurance that Syria's new administration did not intend to respond to that pressure by intervening militarily in Lebanon.
For Damascus, it provided an opportunity to explain the extent of the pressure it faces, while signalling that Hezbollah could help prevent further escalation by addressing tensions along the Lebanese-Syrian border.
