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Saudi Arabia reopens embassy in Syria, completing reconciliation with Assad regime

September 10, 2024 at 8:21 pm

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L) greets the head of Syrian regime Bashar Al Assad (R), ahead of the 32nd Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on May 19, 2023 [Royal Court of Saudi Arabia/Anadolu Agency]

Saudi Arabia has formally reopened its embassy in Syria’s capital, Damascus, marking a significant step in last year’s reconciliation between both countries after over a decade of diplomatic isolation.

At a reception held at Damascus’s Four Seasons Hotel on Monday, Saudi Chargé d’Affaires, Abdullah Al-Harith, stated that the reopening of the Kingdom’s diplomatic mission in Syria “represents an important moment in the history of relations between our two brotherly countries”. He also emphasised Riyadh’s commitment to developing bilateral relations with Damascus.

The move was welcomed by Syrian officials who were in attendance at the reception, with Syria’s Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Raad, highlighting the “deep fraternal relations and social ties” between the two countries.

The reopening of the Saudi embassy in Damascus comes a year after Syria reopened its own embassy in Riyadh, fulfilling their reconciliation and restoration of diplomatic bilateral ties amid a wider regional push to, once again, normalise relations with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime.

Reconciliation with Assad is a strategic mistake and backward step for the Arab world