DUBAI (Dispatches) – Saudi Arabia appointed a new ambassador to Syria on Sunday, state news agency SPA said, the kingdom’s first envoy to Damascus since the closure of the Saudi embassy there in 2012 during the Syrian foreign-backed war.
Riyadh’s new ambassador to Syria will be Faisal al-Mujfel, SPA said.
Saudi Arabia reopened its embassy in Syria earlier this year after the two countries cut diplomatic ties more than a decade ago.
Syria reopened its embassy in Riyadh last year and appointed a new ambassador in December.
The re-establishment of ties between Riyadh and Damascus marked the most significant development so far in moves by Arab states to normalize ties with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
Saudi Arabia and its allies cut their relations with Syria following the 2011 outbreak of a huge wave of foreign-backed violence across the Arab nation.
The eruption of the violence was followed by numerous reports and official accounts pointing to the provision of support on the part of the allied states to the Takfiri outfits that had begun a campaign of bloodshed and destruction throughout Syria.
The terrorist groups soon overran huge swaths of the Syrian territory, causing Damascus to seek out the assistance of its own allies, including Iran and Russia, in its bid to reverse the terrorists’ gains.
Over the past couple of years, Syria’s successful anti-terror drive and return of calm to the biggest part of the country, has prompted many regional states to make overtures to Damascus towards the restoration of their ties with the Arab state.