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Saudi Arabia is reestablishing relations with Syria after a long time

  • International
  • Lead News
  • 24 March, 2023 11:51:40

Photo: Collected

International Desk: After being away for a long time, two Middle Eastern countries, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have recently agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations. As a result, trade and security cooperation between these two rival countries will start again and Saudi Arabia is going to restore relations with Syria after Iran. Syria is a longtime ally of Tehran in the Middle East, and the move by Saudi Arabia could see Damascus return to the Arab-bloc. Reuters reported this information on Friday (March 24). Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen their embassies after cutting diplomatic ties more than a decade ago, the report said. Three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Also, a regional source connected to Damascus said that contacts between Riyadh and Damascus have gained momentum after a recent landmark agreement to restore Saudi Arabia's relations with Iran, the main ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

It will be considered the most significant progress among the steps taken by the Arab states to normalize relations. Because many Western and Arab countries began to avoid Syria after the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. A second regional source connected to Damascus told Reuters that in the second half of April this year, "the governments of the two countries are preparing to reopen their embassies after Eid ul Fitr". Besides, according to a regional source and a Gulf diplomat, the decision to restore diplomatic relations was made as a result of discussions in Saudi Arabia with a senior Syrian intelligence officer. The Saudi Arabian government's communications office, the country's foreign ministry, did not comment on the matter. The Syrian government, on the other hand, did not respond to a request for comment.

Citing a Saudi foreign ministry official, Saudi state television confirmed that talks are underway with the Syrian foreign ministry to reopen consular services. As the matter is very sensitive, the sources have brought this information on the condition of anonymity. Basically, the civil war has been going on in Syria for 11 consecutive years. The conflict that began in Syria in 2011 with a deadly crackdown on a protest against President Bashar al-Assad; That later turned into a civil war, which is still ongoing. At least 380,000 people died in this decade-long conflict and half of the country's population fled their homes. At least 6 million Syrians have taken refuge as refugees in different countries. Of course, at the beginning of the crisis, the United States and several of its regional allies, including the Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Qatar, supported some rebel groups in Syria, but with the help of Iran and Russia, President Assad was able to defeat the rebellion in most parts of Syria.

According to Reuters, the United States has opposed such steps by regional countries to normalize Saudi Arabia's relations with Assad. As the reason for this, Washington cited the brutality of the Assad regime during the conflict and the country also said that a political solution is needed in Syria. When asked about the restoration of relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia, a spokesman for the US State Department said that the US position on the normalization of the situation "remains unchanged." At the same time, the US will not encourage other countries to normalize relations with Assad,' said the spokesman.

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