Tunisia's Saied: Nothing can justify not exchanging envoys with Syria

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
11 Mar 2023 08:40

The Tunisian President says nothing can justify the absence of a Tunisian ambassador in Damascus and an ambassador from Syria in Tunis.

Tunisian President Kais Saied gives a speech at the government's swearing-in ceremony at the Carthage Palace outside the capital Tunis, Feb. 27, 2020 (Reuters)

Tunisian President Kais Saied pointed out that he plans to restore diplomatic relations with Syria, elevating them to a higher level, whereby ambassadors are exchanged, more than a decade after they were broken off.

"Nothing can justify the absence of a Tunisian ambassador in Damascus and an ambassador from Syria in Tunis," Saied said during a sit-down with Tunisian Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar, according to a video released by the presidential office on Friday night.

The Tunisian President indicated that the "question of the regime in Syria concerns only the Syrians," rejecting any interference in the affairs and choices of others.

In February, Saied mentioned his intention to "reinforce the diplomatic representation" of Tunisia in Syria.

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 Syria to follow the situation of Tunisians in the war-torn country.

Seeking to track down more than 3,000 extremist Tunisian fighters who were fighting alongside terrorist organizations in Syria, Tunisia returned limited diplomatic mission to Syria in 2017.