Syria reopens embassy in Saudi Arabia

After nearly a decade of closure, the Syrian Embassy in the Saudi capital of Riyadh has reopened its doors following months of rapprochement between the two sides.

The Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported that Consul Ihsan Raman arrived at the headquarters of the Syrian regime’s embassy in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh on Saturday to resume diplomatic work.

Last May, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced the resumption of the work of its mission in Damascus, and the government of Bashar Al-Assad subsequently announced the resumption of the work of its mission in Riyadh.

Raman said Syria’s embassy in Riyadh represents a home for all Syrians and serves the Syrian community in the kingdom, emphasising that Damascus is working towards opening the embassy’s doors to receive citizens in order to provide the best consular services, particularly to provide passports to those whose documents have expired.

Bashar Al-Assad’s government found itself isolated in 2011 when it was expelled from the Arab League due to its violent crackdown on the Arab Spring protests.

In the decade after the eruption of the civil war, more than 350,000 Syrians were killed, according to the UN. NGOs place the number at over 600,000, with 91 per cent of civilian deaths caused by the Assad regime, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

However, as Al-Assad has regained control of most of Syria and Damascus was readmitted to the Arab League earlier this.

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