JEDDAH (Dispatches) – Arab countries gathered in Jeddah on Friday to discuss ending Syria’s long spell of futile diplomatic isolation, as regional relations shift following Saudi Arabia and Iran’s decision to resume ties.
Ministers and top officials from the six Persian Gulf Cooperation Council countries -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- plus Egypt, Iraq and Jordan meet at Saudi Arabia’s request.
Up for discussion in the Red Sea city is Syria’s suspension from the Arab League, imposed since the start of the foreign-backed war in the country in 2011.
On Wednesday, in the latest sign of an easing in tensions with Damascus, Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Jeddah, the first such visit since the war began.
Mekdad and his Saudi counterpart discussed “the necessary steps” to end Damascus’s isolation, according to a Saudi statement.
The Jeddah meeting is one in a flurry of initiatives following Saudi Arabia and Iran’s landmark, Chinese-brokered announcement on March 10 that they would resume ties, seven years after an acrimonious split.
Mekdad and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have called for an end to foreign military presence on Syrian oil and West’s interventions in the Arab country.
In a joint statement issued following a meeting between the two top diplomats, both sides agreed to resume consular services and direct flights between Damascus and Riyadh, and work with each other to beef up regional security and combat all forms of terrorism.
Both sides also agreed on the need for the Syrian state to assert its control over all its territories and end the presence of all foreign forces.
The U.S. military has stationed its forces and equipment in northeastern Syria without the Syrian government’s consent, with the Pentagon claiming that the deployment aims to prevent the oil fields in the area from falling into the hands of the Daesh terrorists.
Damascus, however, says the U.S. deployment is aimed at plundering Syria’s natural resources. Former U.S. president Donald Trump admitted on several occasions that American forces were in the Arab country for its oil wealth.