Al Assad meets in Syria with the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia to discuss their bilateral relations

18 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The President of Syria, Bashar al Assad, received the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan, in Damascus this Tuesday, within the framework of the rapprochement between the two countries and with a view to a possible restoration of their diplomatic ties, broken in 2011 following the outbreak of the war in the Arab country.

According to the Syrian state radio-television channel, ORTAS, Al Assad met with Bin Farhan shortly after his arrival at the airport in the Syrian capital, where he was received by the Syrian Minister of the Presidency, Mansur Azam. At the moment, no details have been released about the issues discussed at the meeting.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry has published a photograph of the portfolio holder upon his arrival in Damascus and has indicated that the trip “takes place within the framework of the will and interest of the Kingdom in finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria to end all its repercussions and preserve Syria’s unity, security, stability and Arab identity, while reintegrating it into its Arab context in a way that benefits the brotherly people.”

Bin Farhan’s visit to Syria takes place days after his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mikdad, made a trip to Riyadh, the first since the outbreak of the war due to the violent repression of pro-democratic protests in line with what is known as ‘Spring Arab’.

The two countries agreed in March to resume their diplomatic ties — shortly after the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to resume their ties — and Riyadh has spearheaded efforts for the regional reintegration of Damascus — including its return to the Arab League –, after nearly more than a decade of practically total isolation within the international community.

Mikdad himself put on Monday among Damascus’s priorities “reforming its relations” with the countries of the region. The Council for the Cooperation of the Arab States of the Gulf (CCG) held a meeting in Saudi Arabia on Friday – in which other regional countries also participated – to address the situation in Syria, a meeting that ended without an agreement on the reinstatement of Damascus to regional organizations.