Saudi Arabia will host the next summit of the pan-Arab bloc on May 19.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad solidified his comeback in the Arab world on Tuesday when major Sunni power Saudi Arabia, which has long supported the Syrian opposition, said its diplomats would resume work in the country.
The resumption of diplomatic ties comes more than a decade after Riyadh withdrew its representatives during Syria’s civil war, and two days after the Arab League bloc ended Syria’s years-long suspension.
Saudi Arabia will host the next summit of the pan-Arab bloc on May 19.
“The kingdom has decided to resume the work of its diplomatic mission in Syria,” Riyadh’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
It added that Saudi Arabia wanted to “develop joint Arab action”.
Assad had been politically isolated in the region since Syria’s war began, but there has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in the past few weeks as a decision by Damascus’s close allies Saudi Arabia and Iran to There has been a change in regional relations.
Three weeks ago, Assad met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Damascus – the first such visit since the war began in 2011.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said at the time, Assad and Prince Faisal “discussed steps to achieve a comprehensive political settlement that contributes to Syria’s return to the Arab region.”
Saudi Arabia broke with Assad’s government in 2012 and Riyadh had long openly supported Assad’s ouster, supporting Syrian rebels in the first phase of the war.
Assad hopes normalization with the wealthy Gulf states could bring economic relief and funds for reconstruction, as extensive international funding remains elusive without a UN-backed political solution to the conflict.
– No political solution –
On Sunday, the Arab League welcomed the return of the Syrian government.
The body suspended Damascus’s crackdown on peaceful protests in November 2011, which began earlier that year and turned into a war that attracted foreign powers, killing more than 500,000. Millions were displaced and the country’s infrastructure and industry were damaged.
While the front line has mostly calmed down, large parts of the country’s north remain outside government control, and no political solution to the conflict has yet been reached.
Arab League foreign ministers on Sunday stressed “an eagerness to undertake a leading Arab role in efforts to resolve the Syrian crisis”.
Ahmed Abul Gheit, the head of the 22-member Arab League, said the decision “brings the Arab side into communication with the Syrian government for the first time in years”.
Syria’s return to the bloc is “the beginning…not the end of the issue”, he said, noting that it is up to individual countries to decide whether to resume ties with Damascus.
The main opposition coalition, the Syrian National Coalition, said Sunday’s decision meant “abandoning” the Syrian people and leaving them “without official Arab support”.
On Tuesday the United States and Britain said they still believe there should be no business as usual with Assad, although they said they would work with Arab states that are reconciling with Damascus .
The United States keeps hundreds of thousands of troops in Syria as part of a coalition against the Islamic State group. Forces affiliated with Türkiye and Iran are also in the country.
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