Syria to reopen its embassy in Tunisia after more than 10 years

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Apr 2023 20:18

The Syrian government decides to reopen the Syrian embassy in Tunisia and appoint an ambassador soon.

A Syrian flag flies near a bus station in the Baramkeh neighborhood of the capital Damascus on November 5, 2015. (AFP)

Syria will reopen its diplomatic mission in Tunisia and appoint an ambassador there, Damascus and Tunis announced in a joint statement on Wednesday after more than a decade of strained ties.

Syria's decision followed a similar move by Tunis on April 3, when Tunisian President Kais Saied instructed his Foreign Minister to begin procedures to appoint an ambassador to Damascus.

"In response to the initiative of the President of the Tunisian Republic... the Syrian government... decided to reopen the Syrian embassy in Tunisia, and to appoint an ambassador soon," Syria's official news agency SANA said quoting the statement.

Saied had said last month that he planned to restore diplomatic relations with Syria.

It was the latest example of Arab outreach to Damascus that has gathered pace since Syria and Turkey were hit by a devastating earthquake in February.

Al-Assad visited the United Arab Emirates, which restored ties in 2018, and Oman this year, and last month Saudi Arabia said it has started talks with Damascus about resuming consular services.

Tunisia expelled Syria's Ambassador in 2012 over the war in the country. The diplomatic rupture, undertaken when former President Moncef Marzouki was still in office, was strongly criticized by the opposition at the time.

In 2015, Tunisia took a step toward re-establishing relations when it designated a consular representative to Damascus to follow up on the situation of Tunisians in Syria.

In a related context, nine Arab countries are set to meet in Saudi Arabia later this week to discuss moves to allow inviting the Syrian government to attend an Arab League summit next month.

According to sources, the League is currently split on the decision to re-include Syria's membership, with reports stating that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are trying to convince Qatar and Kuwait of its readmission before the May summit takes place.

A spokesperson for the Qatari Foreign Ministry told reporters that Qatari diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani would attend the Arab Gulf meeting on Syria but said that Qatar’s stance on its readmission remained unchanged.

Earlier, Qatar Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari confirmed that ministers and top officials from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates -- and Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan have been invited to the summit.

Last week, CNN reported that CIA director William Burns made an unannounced visit to Saudi Arabia to express his frustration that peace was breaking out in the Middle East against Washington's wishes.

The Wall Street Journal cited sources familiar with the matter as saying that Burns expressed frustration with the Saudis and told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that the US has felt blindsided by Riyadh’s rapprochement with Iran and Syria under the auspices of Washington’s global rivals.