Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mikdad on Monday put among Damascus’ priorities »reforming its relations» with the countries of the region, at a time when several Arab nations have opened the door to resuming ties after more than ten years of almost total isolation, including the possibility of its re-acceptance into the Arab League.
Mikdad, who is on an official visit to Algeria, has indicated in an interview granted to the Algerian television channel Algeria International TV that the restoration of these ties is a way to make regional cooperation »beneficial», although he has recognized that there are »differences» within the organization on the application of its policies.
Thus, he explained that Damascus appreciates that »most of the Arab countries are now beginning to understand that the path of joint Arab action is the only one that preserves the dignity of the Arabs, as well as the rights of the Palestinians». Mikdad has further defended that this position makes it possible to reject the »blatant interference of the Western countries».
On the other hand, he confirmed that his meeting on Sunday with the Algerian president, Abdelmayid Tebune, was »cordial» and stressed that this meeting »demonstrates the depth of relations between two brotherly countries», as reported by the Syrian state television channel, ORTAS. Mikdad delivered to Tebune a message from his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, without further details having been revealed.
The Syrian foreign minister will travel to Tunisia on Monday, days after Damascus confirmed that it will reopen its embassy in the African country »in response to the initiative of Tunisian President Kais Saied to appoint an ambassador to Syria».
Mikdad’s trip comes after the ministerial meeting of the Council for the Cooperation of Arab Gulf States (GCC) in Saudi Arabia — in which other regional countries also participated — to address the situation in Syria, a meeting that ended without an agreement on Damascus’ rejoining regional organizations.
Syria was expelled from the Arab League after the outbreak of the war due to the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations in the wake of the ‘Arab Spring’, after which several regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, provided support to various rebel groups on Syrian territory. The Syrian government was backed by Iran.
Syria and Saudi Arabia recently began talks to restore ties, a move that came on the back of the recently signed agreement between Riyadh and Tehran to normalize their bilateral relations, broken in 2016. Several countries in the region have bid to restore their ties with Damascus, which has given a boost to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
