SAUDI EMBASSY SET TO REOPEN

Saudi Arabia is set to resume activities at its embassy in Syria, less than a year after President Bashar Al Assad’s return to the Arab fold and the restoration of diplomatic ties between the countries, a Syrian source has told

The National.

Riyadh re-established relations with Damascus in May last year, more than a decade after withdrawing its representatives amid the Syrian civil war. Mr Al Assad was formally welcomed back into the regional circle during an Arab League summit in Jeddah that same month.

“Within the next two days, there will be a return of the activities at the embassy,” the source said. “Right now there are names that have been assigned. The official reopening of the embassy has not happened yet, but in two days it will resume activities.”

After the Arab League summit last year, a technical team from the Saudi Foreign Ministry arrived in Damascus to begin preparations for the reopening of the embassy. A ministry source said “there are plans to finalise this very soon”.

In December, Syria appointed Mohamed Sousan as its ambassador to Saudi Arabia, but he has not yet travelled to Riyadh to reopen the embassy. While Saudi Arabia has not yet formally announced its ambassador to Damascus, a charge d’affaires is expected to lead the mission in the interim.

The Arab League last year announced Syria’s conditional return after more than a decade of isolation. The decision was made during an emergency meeting in Cairo, where the organisation has its headquarters.

In a statement at the time, they said the move would help to end the “suffering” of the Syrian people and allow them to “realise their legitimate future aspirations”.