Saudi television announced that Riyadh and Damascus are in talks to resume consular services. Reuters reported that Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen their embassies after severing relations for more than ten years. Three informed sources mentioned that Syria and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement to reopen their embassies after a decade of diplomatic relations being cut, a move that could represent a significant step forward in Damascus' return to the Arab fold.
Reuters quoted a regional source loyal to Damascus, who requested anonymity, stating that communications between Riyadh and Damascus gained momentum following a historic agreement to restore relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Syria's main ally. The return of relations between Riyadh and Damascus would mark the most important development so far in Arab countries' efforts to normalize relations with Assad, who has been boycotted by many Western and Arab nations since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.
The agency reported another regional source allied with Damascus indicating that the two governments are "preparing to reopen the embassies after Eid al-Fitr." This decision resulted from discussions in Saudi Arabia with a senior Syrian intelligence official, according to one regional source and a diplomat in the Gulf. However, Saudi Arabia has been moving with greater caution than its neighbor, the UAE. A Gulf diplomat stated that the senior Syrian official "spent days" in Riyadh and an agreement was reached to reopen the embassies "very soon."
The diplomat, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, mentioned that the Syrian-Saudi talks could pave the way for a vote on lifting Syria's suspension from the Arab League during the upcoming Arab summit expected to be held in Saudi Arabia in April. One of the regional sources identified the Syrian official as Hossam Louka, who heads the Syrian intelligence committee. The discussions reportedly included security on the Syrian border with Jordan and the smuggling of Captagon drugs into the Gulf from Syria.
Before the announced Saudi move, the UAE hosted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his wife in accordance with protocols for receiving heads of state, during which Assad remarked that it is natural for relations between Arab countries to be sound and brotherly. This was Assad's second visit to the UAE within a year. Earlier this month, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud indicated that communication with the Syrian president could lead to Syria's return to the Arab League, but it is too early to discuss such a move at this time. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 with the onset of the war.
