After Iran, Saudi Arabia Restores Relations with Syria

Riyadh, MINA – After re-establishing diplomatic relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria agreed to reopen their embassies after severing diplomatic relations more than a decade ago, a source familiar with the matter, Middle East Monitor reported on Friday.

Contacts between Riyadh and Damascus are creating momentum following a landmark agreement to rebuild ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, said a regional source aligned with Damascus.

The re-establishment of ties between Riyadh and Damascus will mark the most significant development in Arab states’ moves to normalize relations with President Bashar Al-Assad, who was shunned by many Western and Arab nations after Syria’s civil war in 2011.

The two governments are “preparing to reopen embassies after Idul Fitri”, a Muslim holiday in the second half of April, said a second regional source aligned with Damascus.

The decision was the result of talks in Saudi Arabia with a senior Syrian intelligence official, according to one regional source and a diplomat in the Gulf country.

The Saudi government communications office, the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry and the Syrian government did not respond to requests for comment. Sources speak on condition of anonymity due to subject sensitivity.

The seemingly sudden breakthrough could show how the deal between Tehran and Riyadh could play into another crisis in the region. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)