March 23, 2023
BEIRUT/RIYADH (Reuters) - Syria and
Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen their embassies after cutting diplomatic
ties more than a decade ago, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, a
step that would mark a leap forward in Damascus's return to the Arab fold.
Contacts between Riyadh and Damascus
had gathered momentum following a landmark agreement to re-establish ties
between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad, a
regional source aligned with Damascus said.
The re-establishment of ties between
Riyadh and Damascus would mark the most significant development yet in moves by
Arab states to normalize ties with Assad, who was shunned by many Western and
Arab states after Syria's civil war began in 2011.
The two governments were
"preparing to reopen embassies after Eid al-Fitr", a Muslim holiday
in the second half of April, a second regional source aligned with Damascus
told Reuters.
The decision was the result of talks
in Saudi Arabia with a senior Syrian intelligence official, according to one of
the regional sources and a diplomat in the Gulf.
The Saudi government's communication
office, the kingdom's foreign ministry and the Syrian government did not
respond to requests for comment.
The sources spoke on condition of
anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.
The apparently sudden breakthrough
could indicate how the deal between Tehran and Riyadh may play into other
crises in the region, where their rivalry has fuelled conflicts including the
war in Syria.
The United States and several of its
regional allies, including Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Qatar, had backed some of
the Syrian rebels. Assad was able to defeat the insurgency across most of Syria
thanks largely to Shi'ite Iran and Russia.
The United States, an ally of Saudi
Arabia, has opposed moves by regional countries to normalise ties with Assad,
citing his government's brutality during the conflict and the need to see
progress towards a political solution.
ARAB LEAGUE SUSPENSION
The United Arab Emirates, another
strategic U.S. partner, has led the way in normalising contacts with Assad,
recently receiving him in Abu Dhabi with his wife.
But Saudi Arabia has been moving far
more cautiously.
The Gulf diplomat said the
high-ranking Syrian intelligence official "stayed for days" in Riyadh
and an agreement was struck to reopen embassies "very soon".
One of the regional sources identified
the official as Hussam Louqa, who heads Syria's intelligence committee, and
said talks included security on Syria's border with Jordan and the smuggling of
captagon, an amphetamine for which there is a thriving market in the Arab Gulf,
from Syria.
Syria was suspended from the Arab
League in 2011 in response to Assad's brutal crackdown on protests.
Saudi's foreign minister Prince Faisal
bin Farhan Al Saud earlier this month said engagement with Assad could lead to
Syria's return to the Arab League, but it was currently too early to discuss
such a step.
The diplomat said the Syrian-Saudi
talks could pave the way for a vote to lift Syria's suspension during the next
Arab summit, expected to be held in Saudi Arabia in April.
The United Arab Emirates reopened its
embassy in Damascus in 2018, arguing Arab countries needed more of a presence
in resolving the Syrian conflict.
While Assad has basked in renewed
contacts with Arab states that once shunned him, U.S. sanctions remain a major
complicating factor for countries seeking to expand commercial ties.
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