Saudi Arabia is continuing apace with major shifts in its foreign policy, formally resuming diplomatic ties with Syria after a decade-long freeze, officials confirmed on Tuesday.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in the Syrian Arab Republic,” the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported Tuesday.
As CNN reports, the announcement came two days after Syria was readmitted into the Arab League – “despite repeated objections from the United States to ending the isolation of a regime that it holds accountable for the deaths of more 300,000 civilians and displacement of millions in the country’s civil war.”
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that the reopening of its embassy in Damascus aims “to strengthen security and stability in the region.” It did not say when the embassy will reopen, adding that the move follows the Arab League’s decision to reinstate Syria’s membership.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said they opposed the move to allow Syria to re-join the league, but they also said it was up to the Arab League to determine its membership, the AP reports.
Syria’s Foreign Minister later said that Damascus will also resume work at its mission in Saudi Arabia.
According to the AP, also on Tuesday, Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Moscow where he will attend a meeting on Wednesday that will include his counterparts from Iran, Turkey and Russia.
“It will be the first time that Syria’s foreign minister will meet his Turkish counterpart in more than a decade, as Turkey has been a main backer of opposition fighters trying to remove Assad from power,” the AP notes.
