TUNIS (Reuters/ Middle East Eye) – Tunisian President Kais Saied has instructed the foreign ministry to “initiate procedures for appointing an ambassador of Tunisia in Damascus”, according to an official statement, in the latest move towards Arab states’ normalization with the government of Bashar al-Assad.
The statement, published on the presidency’s Facebook page, stressed the “necessity of adhering to the principles of the foreign policy of the Tunisian diplomacy” and said that the country’s “positions abroad stem from the will of its people”.
Tunisia was among several Arab countries that severed their ties with Assad a decade ago, in the aftermath of the foreign-backed war in Syria. But Tunis returned a limited diplomatic mission to Syria in 2017.
Saied had previously announced that his government would strengthen ties with Syria, and in February he decided to raise the level of Tunisian diplomatic representation in Damascus, declaring that “the issue of the Syrian government is an internal matter that concerns Syrians alone.”
The Tunisian announcement comes as Saudi Arabia reportedly plans to invite Assad to an Arab League summit in Riyadh on 19 May, a move that could cement Assad’s return to the Arab fold after a decade.
The Syrian leader’s visit would coincide with Saudi Arabia and Syria’s plans to reopen their embassies after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan at the end of April, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, senior diplomats from Russia, Turkey, and Syria wrapped up two days of talks in Moscow on Tuesday, part of the Kremlin’s efforts to help broker a rapprochement between the Turkish and Syrian governments.
The Russian and Turkish foreign ministries issued terse readouts, saying diplomats discussed preparations for a planned meeting of the four countries’ foreign ministers. Moscow described the consultations as “frank and direct,” and Ankara said they were held in a “transparent and clear manner,” while offering no details.
The talks in Moscow were held as UN-mediated negotiations aimed at reaching a political solution to the conflict in Syria have stalled.
Russia has waged a military campaign in Syria since September 2015, teaming up with Iran to allow Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government to fight foreign-backed terrorists and reclaim control over most of the country. While the bulk of the Russian military has been busy fighting in Ukraine, Moscow has maintained its military foothold in Syria and kept warplanes and troops at its bases there.