PARIS, France - Saudi Arabia has announced that it will reopen its diplomatic mission in Syria, nearly a decade after cutting off diplomatic ties with the war-tron country. The decision comes two days after Syria was readmitted into the Arab League, following a China-brokered deal to re-establish ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar al – Assad.
The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement that the move was based on the fraternal ties that unit the peoples of the two countries, and it would support regional security and stability. The statement also said that Saudi Arabia was committed to the principles of the United Nations and the Arab League, as well as international conventions and norms.
Syria’s state news agency said that Damascus has also decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia, and that contacts between them had gathered momentum in recent months.
The resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria marks a significant shift in the regional dynamics, as some Arab states have turned the page with Damascus, reversing years of isolation over Assad’s crackdown on protests in 2011 and the ensuing civil war. The United Arab Emirates was the first Gulf state to reopen its embassy in Damascus in 2018, followed by Bahrain and Oman.
