diplomacy
Saudi Arabia: Representation in Syria resumes work
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad (r) receives Faisal bin Farhan, Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, in Damascus. photo
© Abdulrahman Al-Abdulsalam/Saudi Press Agency/dpa
The severing of diplomatic relations with Syria was seen as a protest against Assad’s brutal actions against his own people. Now Syria’s head of state is taking an important step out of isolation.
In the course of the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Syria, the diplomatic representation of the influential Gulf state is to resume its work in the civil war country. The statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry last night did not indicate whether this was the embassy.
For its part, the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced that the country’s diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia would resume operations, state agency Sana reported. The announcements came days after Syria’s return to the Arab League on Sunday.
Approaching after years of the Ice Age
Saudi Arabia cut ties with Syria in 2012 and recalled its ambassador. The severing of diplomatic relations was seen as a protest against the Syrian government’s brutal actions against its own people in the civil war. After years of the ice age, the two countries have recently been getting closer again and recently negotiated the resumption of consular services. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday evening that the move would strengthen security and stability in the region.
At the weekend, the foreign ministers of the Arab countries ended the isolation of President Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government and decided to return the country to the Arab League. Syria was expelled from the organization in 2011 because of the brutal crackdown on its own people.
Crimes against humanity
Syrian government troops had violently put down protests in the country at the time. The uprisings developed into a civil war that has continued to this day, in which more than 350,000 people lost their lives. Assad has been charged with crimes against humanity, including the use of chemical weapons. The Syrian President used the devastating earthquakes of February 6 in Syria and Turkey to increasingly appear publicly again.
The rapprochement between Riyadh and Damascus is seen as another major political shift in the region. In March, the two rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran announced a resumption of bilateral relations, which at the same time increases the chances of the conflict in Syria easing. Alongside Russia, Iran is President Assad’s most important ally. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, has long supported rebels in the Syrian civil war.