Syria
Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, receives a delegation representing various Arab parliaments in Damascus, Feb. 26, 2023. Photo: SANA/AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Syria and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday said they would restore diplomatic ties after a 12 year hiatus, as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad consolidates his reemergence within the Arab fold.
The restoration of diplomatic relations comes over a decade since Saudi Arabia cut ties with Syria over the regime’s crackdown of protesters which led to a 12-year-long civil war, and two days after the Arab League voted to allow Damascus back.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially issued a statement through the Saudi Press Agency saying that relations were reinstated “in the interest of contributing to the development of joint Arab action and strengthening security and stability in the region.”
Syria’s state-run SANA also said that Damascus and Riyadh had decided to restore ties “based on the deep bonds and common affiliation” between the two countries.
The decision comes ahead of an Arab League meeting on May 19.
Arab nations broke off relations with Syria over Damascus’ crackdown on protests that grew into a civil war in 2011. Gulf countries, with Saudi Arabia in particular, supported the rebels while Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran, backed Assad. Syria’s membership in the Arab League was reinstated on Sunday after 12 years of suspension.
Late last month, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan visited Damascus in the first such visit since 2011.
Assad’s normalization within the pan-Arab bloc comes amid shifting alliances in the region as arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran also agreed to restore diplomatic ties in March.
The US has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction at its Arab allies for restoring ties with Damascus, saying that Syria’s Assad does not deserve to be readmitted back to the Arab League.
Syrians rose up against the Assad regime in March 2011, leading to a full-scale civil war that has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Syrian people and has left millions more in need of humanitarian assistance.
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